Death Billiards: Bringing out Humanity's Best and Worst

Intermission Time!

Sorry everyone. I'll admit that the Terror in Resonance and the Evangelion reviews are behind schedule, but they'll be up soon enough. In the meantime, here's an animation by Studio Madhouse: Death Billiards. Released last year for an anime event labelled "Anime Mirai," this 25 minute short is the subject of much discussion recently. There's a pretty significant reason that I'll get into later, but the short itself is a clear example of what anime can be.

Promotional Poster by Studio Madhouse

We open with an elderly man entering through a mysterious elevator. Greeted by a young woman, he is directed to a rather elegant bar room. Are there normally stained glass window patterns in a bar? If anyone's actually been to a bar, I'd love to know. In any case, he enters to find two others: a white haired bartender, and a young man in a suit. Neither can remember how they got to their fine establishment, but they can remember what they had done the moment before. Confused at their current predicament, the bartender and the young stewardess from earlier begin to explain. Between the realm of life and death, there are many possibilities. One would usually think that when people die, they'd be sent to Heaven or Hell. In this case, they have been brought together to play a game. They cannot leave the room until someone has won the game. The old man calmly accepts these strange terms, while the young man is the one with the pretty normal reaction: LOL NOPE I'M LEAVING NOW K THANX BYE. And of course, the normal reaction brings no yield, with the means of escape really being sealed off. He even had his cell phone switched out for a receipt! With the supposed threat of death lingering over their heads, they are summoned to a game of...pool.

This short is called "Death Billiards" and yet they keep calling it "Death Pool." As much as I love the character, I don't think Deadpool is getting becoming cultured anytime soon.

Oh, and there's one more thing: the numbers on the balls are replaced by images of the participants vital organs and body parts. And they move in sync with their own pulse.

Keep your eye on the ball...

See that 'eye' on the Blue Ball? Imagine if every time you blinked, it would blink at the exact same time. Yeah. You'd have to hit that with a stick. Don't get squeamish now. They aren't linked with your actual body parts aside from pulse. No. Really. It's purely there for immersion purposes. Adds tension, y'know?

I never knew that the same cut throat mentality of desperate humans could be applied to a game of billiards, but the tension is thick. The panicked expressions of the younger, the steely determination of the elder, and the seemingly mild amusement of the bartender and stewardess. It all comes together beautifully, wrapped up in very stylish animation. Intense camera angles and fluid actions that really showcase Studio Madhouse's talent. It's a bit more of a standard look when compared to more recent anime, but it maintains a clean look and on model characters. The music is a bit subdued here, but it's there when it really counts. The emotion filled moments can really be felt, and goes hand in hand with its representing scenes.

Speaking of representative scenes, there is a fair bit of subtlety and symbolism towards the end. It's all about the outcome of the game: The winner, what it means to win, and what happens next. I'd give you more details, but...it's a rather open ended ending. I have a pretty good idea of what it means, but I'll let you decide. Just pay attention, or you might not get it.

...

Overall, I highly recommend you check this out. It's only 25 minutes, but I'm sure you'll find something to take away from it. If nothing else, it will give you context for the upcoming anime that was green-lit recently: Death Parade.

Death Parade, coming January 2015.

It's gotten a fair bit of attention, with this anime serving to flesh out the world. I'll cover it if you guys want, probably after Terror in Resonance.

With that, I leave you. Regular programming will return shortly. Catch you later!

 - SpinGin

Return of Watanabe: Zankyou no Terror Episode 1

Evening, everybody! It's SpinGin again.

Let me ask you some questions. Do you like to be on the edge of your seat? Do you appreciate when a show can send chills down your spine? And, perhaps most of all, are you comfortable with a series that can hit you where it hurts?

If you've answered yes or no to any of these questions, then you are ready to experience a developing masterpiece. This is Studio MAPPA's newest creation: Zankou no Terror. And if you don't speak Nihongo:




 This show was actually released earlier this year, back in July. There was a lot of hype surrounding it considering two things: its premise (which I'll get to in a sec) and the director. Shinichiro Watanabe is a pretty big name in the anime world, earning his reputation for being a phenomenal director. He's worked on some of my most favourite series, Cowboy Bebop being arguably his most famous. But does this first episode live up to these grand expectations?

In a word: yes. Episode 1, titled FALLING, is a pretty great crash course for those that want an example of pure Watanabe.

Picture this. A snowy day in Aomori, Japan. Two teenagers addressing themselves as 9 and 12 execute a plan to steal an explosive from a nuclear testing plant of sorts. Leaving behind a spray - painted message in red, VON, the two escape via snowmobile. It's a really thrilling action sequence full of crazy camera techniques and expressive movements. Now you could just look at those first few minutes and accurately claim that Watanabe had his hands all over this...but there's so much more to his style that comes alive in this episode.

We have a six month time skip, this time on a hot summer day in Tokyo. 9, the stern and focused boy tells the more happy go lucky 12 to keep his cover as a normal student. The two are posing as transfer students under the names Arata Kokonoe and Toji Hisami respectively, and need to keep a low profile. Unfortunately for the concerned Arata, Toji is the subject of gossip in the school. I don't know about you guys, but I'd mention a hyperactive transfer student to my friends if he came to school soaking wet. But why is he soaking wet? Before their cover names are actually revealed when they go to school, 9 & 12 encounter a girl being bullied for her fear of jumping off a pool's diving board. This girl, Lisa Mishima, is comforted by 12 brazenly deciding to jump in. So much for low profiling, right?



Meanwhile, we have a pair of policemen that play witness to a YouTube warning. Headed by "Sphinx Weather Forecast" members Sphinx #1 and #2, it's a vague warning by 9 and 12 of a darkness covering Shinjuku at 3pm tomorrow. The two don't make much of it at first, but don't worry. It'll all make sense in a minute. Later that night, 9 has a pretty freaky flashback / dream sequence. It's a wash of neutral colours as what appears to be younger versions of the two run towards a large fence. Ending with an explosion of all consuming fire, its a recurring dream that will no doubt come up later on in this series. But enough of that for now. Time for the big moment!

9 & 12 are in a mall and speak of a plan...move in three minutes, as power will be restored after twenty - six. Be ready. At that moment, a ship passes through some power cables a fair distance away. It may be daytime, but the whole city loses its light. Back at the Police HQ, the two former detectives connect the dots. Shibazaki and Mukasa both know the generator will restore power in twenty six minutes, but anything goes in that time. The entire mall is evacuated. All except for Lisa. That's right! Earlier on, Lisa had runt to the bathroom to read a mysterious set of texts from her Mom. Lisa was in the mall and ran to the bathroom for a second time, but the power cut right when she was in the bathroom. Attempting to find a way out, she finds 12 instead. He and 9 had finished taking plushies from the store and placing them all over the building. In an eerily cheerful demeanor, he tosses Lisa a plushie and leaves her behind.

So the power's back, and the duo have gotten away. 9 dials a code on his iPhone, setting every plushie to simultaneously explode. Well...not every one of them. 12 lays a guilt based gambit on him to save Lisa to which he reluctantly agrees. They call Lisa and give her a choice: either stay behind and die in the explosion, or escape and live as an accomplice. Lisa obviously choices live over death, and 9 directs her steps out the mall...using the resonance of her voice in the stairway she was in. Using the plushie 12 gave her, Lisa makes her own exit with 9's instructions. Speaking of 12, he shows up this time on a motorcycle, and meets her at the ground floor. She has to jump to him this time, or it's all over. And as she makes that critical leap, Watanabe's thematic writing shines through. The left tower crumbles in the explosion, with the right still smoking. Prepare for some serious 9/11 symbolism here, as there is absolutely no subtlety with its context.

We close on a pretty heavy note, as the now regrouped duo engage Lisa. 9 tells her that it was her choice to come along...and that she can't go back now. The episode ends with the description she gave them at the beginning: "A smile like the sun on a hot summer day, with eyes cold as ice." These two are clearly two halves of one whole.

 

I'm really excited to be watching this series now. This calm and eerie vibe that's bubbling forth intrigues me. Everything down from the modernized setting, Yoko Kanno's soundtrack, the 'bleached' colour scheme, and the still opening and ending animations really set up this world well. So far, this is a refreshing thriller, full of suspense, action and that classic Watanabe feel.

And I can't wait for the next one.


Later, people!

It Starts: Neon Genesis Evangelion Episodes 1 - 2 Review

Hey everybody! I'm SpinGin, and today I begin the journey into madness. As a right of passage, if you will, I shall tackle one of the biggest series to ever have graced the anime world: Neon Genesis Evangelion. Created in 1995, Evangelion was directed by Hideaki Anno and produced by Studio Gainax. This apocalyptic mecha anime is heralded as a classic among classics, and is quite infamous for reasons we'll see later on. I'll be covering two episodes per review to keep the pace up, so apologies for the length of these reviews. This one's going to be...interesting to say the least.

So, without any further delay...Hit it!




First impressions mean a lot for a series, and this one is looking on the up and up so far. These first two episodes are a good enough set up for the events that are taking place. Occuring in 2015 (go figure!) Japan is under attack by an Angel. And it's not the one you're thinking of right now. These hideous lovecraftian monstrosities are no joke, and this one is absolutely decimating the opposition. The UN's military are throwing everything and the kitchen sink at it, and it's still alive and kicking. Not even a nuke can stop it! The most it does is tear off the Angel's arm. But that's not the unsettling part. It's the fact that it can regenerate said arm and grow smarter that worries me. Can anything stop it?

Apparently so. Shinji Ikari  is commanded to pilot humanity's last hope against the Angels: the Evangelions. Created by his father and the military organization NERV, they are massive mecha that look both incredibly creepy and unbelievably awesome. After a bit of kicking and screaming, he agrees to piloting the Eva and is launched into the heat of battle. Here's the thing though: he's never even seen this robot before and is expected to pilot it! OK, pause. I know it's a common element in fiction, but in a realistic world setting...why in the world would you send an untrained, timid teenage boy to fight possibly the greatest threat to humanity? What kind of sense does that make? Shouldn't it be more like Pacific Rim, where there are fully trained adult operatives on the battlefield? Never mind. In any case, that's as basic as I can make it without going into a full on spoiler ridden plot summary. If you guys want me to give you a live reaction, I'll do that next time...but there's more ground to cover.

We're introduced to a few characters in a way that showcases a little of what kind of person they are. I won't spoil who they are too much, but I do want to address our main protagonist for a moment. Shinji Ikari is, as mentioned before, a timid teenage boy. He has a bit of snark in him, but he's ultimately a rather isolated kid. He has a hard time accepting acts of kindness from others, and is rather broken. Shinji seems to have a negative complex relating to his usefulness, and I personally can connect with him a bit in that regard. I can't help but feel rather sorry for the guy...I digress. He also has some issues with his father, which go way back to his childhood. A certain intense glance they have in Episode 2 showcases the deep tension between them. It just makes me wonder... what happened that cause such a conflict between them? And for that manner, where's Shinji's mother? All of these questions give an air of mystery to his character, and I'm interested in how this most likely scarring for life experience will change him.



Now to address everything else. Before the story actually starts, there's a rather upbeat and active intro. It's quite flashy, and very fast. No. Seriously. If you so much as blink, then you've missed something. I understand if you do blink though. If anything, it's a plus for the animation. Considering this is all hand drawn cel animation, this is pretty intense! On the other side of the spectrum, the outro is much more calm and subdued. And what's this I hear in the background? Fly Me to the Moon?! ...Interesting song choice. It's not everyday you hear such a classic song in a series. Anyways...the animation is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, the action scenes are incredible. The animation becomes very fluid and the movement is really believable. However, when there isn't much action...the animation quality can fluctuate. It can go from a decent amount of movement to simple still shots. And while I can appreciate the smoothness of a late 90s anime, there a handful of moments that I was bored with the lack of movement of any kind on the screen.

Speaking of  the late 90s, I'm watching the English dubbed version of Evangelion. I'm the kind of person that doesn't really care about hearing an anime in anything other than its original Japanese, so I don't really hate on a dub unless it's particularly bad. With that said...the voices may be fitting, but it's a bit rough around the edges. It isn't terrible, but it will take some getting used to.

Overall, the show is off to an interesting start. Next week looks to be promising, with a new Angel on the rise and Shinji being able to interact with the people that he helped protect.

Until then: Good Night everybody. Take care.

Introduction

Welcome!

Hey there! The name is Sterling Joseph, but you can call me SpinGin. And by Gin, I mean silver, not what you would think it is. In any case, this is a place to chill and talk about anime. I love it for it's beautiful artstyles and well written stories...but it's also a whole lot of fun to watch, y' know? So how about this? Every week, I'll review a classic and a relatively new anime episode by episode to start out. First on deck are the Original Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Zankyou no Terror (Terror in Resonance). If anyone would have any requests for an anime, I'll cover it if you want. Does that sound good?

Catch you later.