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As I said I was planning to do, it's time for another installment of Anime Apolyton.
For starters, everyone see my new avatar? It's Reki from Haibane Renmei. There's a very good reason for the change. Haibane Renmei managed to become my favorite anime series. It beat out the long standing incumbent, Serial Experiments: Lain. This was a tough task. Not only is Lain an excellent story that was very well made, it's got a series nostalgia factor for me. It was the series that really got me hooked into anime.
I want to talk about Haibane, but it's such a new show I know most people here haven't seen it yet. I'll keep things general and non-spoilerish for now.
For starters, the art. This was a bit of a draw, since both are done in Yo****oshi ABe's style. In both series it matches very well with the story. Haibane captures ABe's watercolor work very well, but I can't really discount Lain for the differences, as the story in Haibane is much more suited for this than Lain was.
The animation on both is very well done. Good attention to detail in both cases, although I think Haibane gets a slight edge here. This is probalby thanks to ABe, who gets his sense of humor to show through in some of the smaller details.
The music for both is, again, solid and fitting for the series. Lain has a techno theme, Haibane a classical. I've got both soundtracks, and either is a good one to listen. This is another area that would be a draw, but some of the songs used in Haibane Renmei use harpsichords. I am a sucker for harpsichords, they've always been my favorite instrument. Haibane gets a slight edge here.
On to more subjective issues, starting with the setting. This is kind of hard to compare. Lain is set in modern Japan. There's only so much liberty you can take before it isn't any more. Lain's setting works very well for the story, but for the most part is fairly standard. Haibane's setting was made out of whole cloth by ABe. Some very original touches combined with a good use of symbolism, and a suprising sense of reality. The thirteen episodes manage to present a complete world, and you know there's just more there to be told. Haibane wins hands down here.
Pacing on both shows is excellent. Both are thirteen episode series and both feel like it. Neither wastes the short time they have. Both are the right size for the story they tell. This is a tie.
Now, the plot is a difficult one. Both are excellent, but in different ways. I can't go into real detail on this one without spoilers, so I'll just leave it by saying this is pretty much a tie for me. I enjoy both kinds of story being told.
That pretty much leaves the characters. Lain is primarily about Lain. Very few of the other characters get much development. This is something I can't hold against the show, however. It is part of the point. There are perfectly good story reasons we don't find out much about Lain's parents or the Tachibana Labs boys. Lain is the focus of the show, and she gets the attention she deserves as such. As for Haibane, it is at least in part an extended character study. The two main characters, Rakka and Reki, get plenty of exploration. However, the other characters are not neglected. The other Haibane, the townspeople, they all feel real. Even the characters that only appear for an episode seem like actual, fully developed main characters that are popping in from their own storyline. And I identify fairly strongly with one (which one I leave as an exercise for the veiwer). However, as I said before, they are different kinds of shows. Both are right for what they are. Effectively a tie, but the identification gives Haibane an edge.
Even with the nostalgia on Lain's side, Haibane wins. I can not wait for this show to be released in the US (indeed, I'm not; I'm getting the R2 DVDs, and I've already picked up the doujins the series was based on).
If anyone here finally watches the show and feels like a discussion, feel free to PM me.
Now, on to other news. Early reports are that the Anime Network is off to a strong start. Much stronger than expected, in fact. The cable company is planning to accelerate their plans for getting it into more cities, and start advertising it themselves. This should be quite interesting.
In two weeks I'll be at UshiCon in Austin. If anyone else is going, let me know and we can see about doing something to get together. Several ADV voice actors will be there, and some of the studio reps probably will be. I'll be posting any interesting news I find out here.
Not much new yet on the new US releases. It's only been a couple weeks, after all. Mostly continuations of series that started release last year. Banner of the Stars is the most interesting of the soon to be released series, starting out next week. This will be followed by a Shamanic Princess re-release and ADV finally putting Nuku Nuku OVA on DVD.
A number of highly hyped releases have started or are starting in the next couple months. Noir, Ai Yori Aoshi, Argento Soma, Chobits, RahXephon, .hack//Sign, Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar and Mahoromatic. Make of them what you will, but it looks like there's going to be a large number of new releases this year.
Also of interest is that there are finally firm plans for DVD releases of some of Miyazaki's movies. The Right Stuf has confirmed April release dates for Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, and Kiki's Delivery Service. No details have been given to the distributors yet (standard Disney practice), but here they come.
I think that pretty much covers things for now. It looks like it's going to be a busy year for anime.
Wraith
"The world is full of idiots."
-- Reki ("Haibane Renmei")
For starters, everyone see my new avatar? It's Reki from Haibane Renmei. There's a very good reason for the change. Haibane Renmei managed to become my favorite anime series. It beat out the long standing incumbent, Serial Experiments: Lain. This was a tough task. Not only is Lain an excellent story that was very well made, it's got a series nostalgia factor for me. It was the series that really got me hooked into anime.
I want to talk about Haibane, but it's such a new show I know most people here haven't seen it yet. I'll keep things general and non-spoilerish for now.
For starters, the art. This was a bit of a draw, since both are done in Yo****oshi ABe's style. In both series it matches very well with the story. Haibane captures ABe's watercolor work very well, but I can't really discount Lain for the differences, as the story in Haibane is much more suited for this than Lain was.
The animation on both is very well done. Good attention to detail in both cases, although I think Haibane gets a slight edge here. This is probalby thanks to ABe, who gets his sense of humor to show through in some of the smaller details.
The music for both is, again, solid and fitting for the series. Lain has a techno theme, Haibane a classical. I've got both soundtracks, and either is a good one to listen. This is another area that would be a draw, but some of the songs used in Haibane Renmei use harpsichords. I am a sucker for harpsichords, they've always been my favorite instrument. Haibane gets a slight edge here.
On to more subjective issues, starting with the setting. This is kind of hard to compare. Lain is set in modern Japan. There's only so much liberty you can take before it isn't any more. Lain's setting works very well for the story, but for the most part is fairly standard. Haibane's setting was made out of whole cloth by ABe. Some very original touches combined with a good use of symbolism, and a suprising sense of reality. The thirteen episodes manage to present a complete world, and you know there's just more there to be told. Haibane wins hands down here.
Pacing on both shows is excellent. Both are thirteen episode series and both feel like it. Neither wastes the short time they have. Both are the right size for the story they tell. This is a tie.
Now, the plot is a difficult one. Both are excellent, but in different ways. I can't go into real detail on this one without spoilers, so I'll just leave it by saying this is pretty much a tie for me. I enjoy both kinds of story being told.
That pretty much leaves the characters. Lain is primarily about Lain. Very few of the other characters get much development. This is something I can't hold against the show, however. It is part of the point. There are perfectly good story reasons we don't find out much about Lain's parents or the Tachibana Labs boys. Lain is the focus of the show, and she gets the attention she deserves as such. As for Haibane, it is at least in part an extended character study. The two main characters, Rakka and Reki, get plenty of exploration. However, the other characters are not neglected. The other Haibane, the townspeople, they all feel real. Even the characters that only appear for an episode seem like actual, fully developed main characters that are popping in from their own storyline. And I identify fairly strongly with one (which one I leave as an exercise for the veiwer). However, as I said before, they are different kinds of shows. Both are right for what they are. Effectively a tie, but the identification gives Haibane an edge.
Even with the nostalgia on Lain's side, Haibane wins. I can not wait for this show to be released in the US (indeed, I'm not; I'm getting the R2 DVDs, and I've already picked up the doujins the series was based on).
If anyone here finally watches the show and feels like a discussion, feel free to PM me.
Now, on to other news. Early reports are that the Anime Network is off to a strong start. Much stronger than expected, in fact. The cable company is planning to accelerate their plans for getting it into more cities, and start advertising it themselves. This should be quite interesting.
In two weeks I'll be at UshiCon in Austin. If anyone else is going, let me know and we can see about doing something to get together. Several ADV voice actors will be there, and some of the studio reps probably will be. I'll be posting any interesting news I find out here.
Not much new yet on the new US releases. It's only been a couple weeks, after all. Mostly continuations of series that started release last year. Banner of the Stars is the most interesting of the soon to be released series, starting out next week. This will be followed by a Shamanic Princess re-release and ADV finally putting Nuku Nuku OVA on DVD.
A number of highly hyped releases have started or are starting in the next couple months. Noir, Ai Yori Aoshi, Argento Soma, Chobits, RahXephon, .hack//Sign, Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar and Mahoromatic. Make of them what you will, but it looks like there's going to be a large number of new releases this year.
Also of interest is that there are finally firm plans for DVD releases of some of Miyazaki's movies. The Right Stuf has confirmed April release dates for Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, and Kiki's Delivery Service. No details have been given to the distributors yet (standard Disney practice), but here they come.
I think that pretty much covers things for now. It looks like it's going to be a busy year for anime.
Wraith
"The world is full of idiots."
-- Reki ("Haibane Renmei")
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