Anime Primer

[flippyshark]

I watched STEAMBOY a couple of weeks ago, and I liked it. There has been a lot of criticism (often from Akira fans) that it was great to look at but disappointing in the story department. As a result, my expectations were low. I wound up getting a lot out of it. To be sure, it isn't nearly as fascinating as Akira, but it's probably a lot easier to absorb on first viewing.

The biggest fault with STEAMBOY is the tendency of its main characters to ramble on and on in long arguments, hammering the themes of technology and science vs. humanity into the ground. Still, well worth a rental.

I noticed that the transfer of STEAMBOY looks very dark and muted, and this seems to be intentional, making its setting of steam-punk Victorian London grimy and hazy. However, in the supplements, clips are shown in vibrant color-saturated hues. All of the extras are concerned with the American theatrical release, which caused me to wonder if perhaps the US version had been "brightened up" for American audiences. As it is, the film on the disc is longer than the US release and represent Katsuhiro Otomo's cut. Japanese language with subtitles is available, and preferable. (Interestingly, on the English language track, the young boy protagonist is voiced by The Piano's Anna Paquin.)

Trivial aside - there are characters in this movie named Scarlett O'Hara and Robert Louis Stevenson, but they don't really seem to be the same figures we are familiar with. (Stevenson could be, in an alternate universe sort of way, but Scarlett is most definitely not the Margaret Mitchell character.)

Another anime recommendation: MEMORIES
This is an anthology of three short stories, some written by and one directed by Katsuhiro Otomo.

The first segment is my favorite, MAGNETIC ROSE. Essentially a ghost story set on a derelict ship in space, it's literally operatic in its grandeur, and also delightfully chilling. What's more, it's got images and atmosphere that brought to mind my favorite film, 2001.

Segment 2 - STINK BOMB. This is a light-hearted but apocalyptically destructive tale about a regular shmoe who accidentally ingests an experimental drug and becomes a lethal human stink bomb. In truth, this segment got annoying, as the guy seems frustratingly oblivious to the fact that all living creatures around him are dying. (He's actually good for the plant life, though.)

Segment 3 - CANNON FODDER. This is the Otomo directed segment. It's actually pretty short, and a lovely piece of political satire. It offers a look at an entire society that exists for no other purpose than to load and fire enormous cannons at an unseen, and possibly non-existent, enemy. Its brevity is a strength. There is a (somewhat grotesque) young boy who serves as something of an audience identification figure, but he is kept at arms length from us emotionally. This somewhat cold-hearted essay was a practice run for techniques (and themes) used in STEAMBOY. Well worthwhile.

In any case, put MEMORIES in your queue for MAGNETIC ROSE. It's worth the price of admission.