Hige vs. Otaku

Director: Shukou Murase
Production: Geneon Entertainment, Inc.
Fansubs by Anime Jiyuu

Episode six of Ergo Proxy opens with similarly chilling undertones as episode five’s concluding scene as Pino continues to search for the murdered Timothy. The commune discover the mythical Rabbit, some kind of discarded flying devise from Romdeau, and move forward with their plans to begin the pilgrimage. We discover the relevance of Fuudy’s prized tin solider and subsequently get some interesting back-story (presumed as it is) before his abrupt exit. Raul comes to blows with the Regent Donov over how to deal with the commune’s activities and their association with Vincent, reflecting a childish insolence and self-loathing in Raul’s nature. We gain some history from a combination of Dedalus’s home movies and hallucinations from a now deeply infected Lil. Queen offers Vincent a vaccine in exchange for his technical assistance on the voyage and suggests a worrying amount of premeditation over the current situation, suggesting Lil was baited out . Whether Vincent trusts Queen or decides to return to Romdeau with Lil is left ambiguous until the end of the episode, with both the Rabbit activating and setting sail and Lil’s aircraft leaving for the Dome.

Neither are without their hindrances, however, as the Rabbit is assaulted with countless service drones resulting in many brutal deaths including a valiant Queen. Raul makes a point of keeping Lil waiting before providing medical assistance, only taking an interest when the potential of Vincent’s accompaniment becomes clear. The big reveal comes in the form of Vincent’s decision to remain on the Rabbit, with Fuudy taking his place escorting Lil back to Romdeau. Tragically, this spells his downfall as an attempted a suicide results in his execution from the service drones. Daedelus takes Lil into his care and Raul, now unable to pursue the Rabbit, petulantly commands the destruction of the commune.

Let’s start with the technical aspects of the episode. Happily, quality is maintained and the show remains a beautiful piece of work. Even in the bleak environs of the outside world the colour palette sustains a muted lushness that never jars. The painterly backgrounds are gorgeous while working perfectly with the character design, presenting a robust and wonderfully realised world. Really, I keep repeating the same things in each review of Ergo Proxy for a reason and it’s yet to truly disappoint me. The audio stays on a par with the visuals, the voice acting being decent and its music being appropriate. I’m not sure I can come to ever enjoy the opening theme, the Engrish Cheese Factor being so painfully high, but it’s definitely more tolerable than before. I’ve come to fully appreciate the closing theme now and my copy of Ok Computer has been dusted off and gains an eminent position in iTunes.

The episode itself presented us with a reasonable amount of plot progression – to the point of it feeling rushed, almost. Fuudy’s death needed a better explanation, or at least some clarity over his intentions to kill himself or it simply being apart of the execution. The process of setting up the Rabbit and launching it seemed to happen in a rather abbreviated amount of time, although this did little to undermine the traumatic attack launched upon it by Raul’s service drones. Queen’s death especially fostered one of the most touching scenes of the series so far with Pino coming to understand the concept of loneliness as she watches Queen die. Ergo Proxy definitely deserves kudos for being so emotionally affective with the deaths of two relatively incidental characters. It can’t be denied that Ergo Proxy does have something of an awkward, cumbersome approach to the sentimental moments, but the sterilised tone suited the immediate brutality of these two scenes. My main concern now is that the show answers a number of questions raised in relation to both Queen and Fuudy, especially with Queen’s suggested machinations relating to Vincent.

High points of the episode come from the shared reminiscence sequence between Daedelus and Lil, which provide a lot of fractured back-story on the pair. I’ve always been curious of their history and this gave some interesting insight, as well as reflecting a Lil of happier times. Pino proves to be comic and emotional relief of the show and episode six allows some time to demonstrate her continuing understanding of the human condition. How this relates to her infection of the Cogito is unclear, – if it will lead to actual sentience or it’s Pino merely mimicking her surroundings again. Further explanation of the virus is one of the key draws for me and Ergo Proxy. It has the potential to be fantastic, with the religious elements being especially fascinating, but equally it could be trite and derivative. It’s still early days so time will tell. My general affection for the show means I’m inclined to be optimistic, however!

Conclusion
Another solid, entertaining, shocking episode. Ergo Proxy’s measured, rigid style somehow doesn’t undermine its ability to be emotive and touching with great affect. Its characters demonstrate a considered amount of subtly, something that was especially evident in this intense episode, and I’m still completely impressed by the restraint the writers have shown with their development and the plot as a whole. Some more information on the larger mysteries of the show would have made this episode particularly great, but considering the abundance of events that took place it’s understandable that things were omitted. My fondness for this show only gets stronger and stronger.

Author: Masashi Kishimoto
Scanslated by Naruto Bunshin Scanslation Team
Additional translation: Nihongaeri

[SPOILER HEAVY]

After being captured and bound Sai is subdued and Team Naruto prepare to infiltrate Orochimaru’s lair. Kabuto makes a surprise appearance to scupper these plans and free Sai. However, Naruto doesn’t let this attempt to one-up him go unchallenged and sets off a couple of clones to utilise Rasengan. Kabuto deflects this with a surprising degree of ease and tension is restored. Kabuto reiterates how the passing of time can change people and pities Naruto’s naivety in thinking Sasuke can or wants be saved. Thankfully Sai takes this as a personal piece of motivational speech and seizes Kabuto, exclaiming that perhaps he can change as well.

He explains that the gang have helped him comprehend the bond he originally felt to his ‘brother’ and wants to observe the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke firsthand to gain more understanding. Kabuto drops hints about the pot-luck layout of Oroch’s lair suggesting that Sasuke will be back in his quarters but equally ‘a snake’ could appear in the form of Orochimaru. Yamato addresses the intention to mislead them and Kabuto freely admits to it. The gang continue onward with the plan to search lair, splitting up into two groups with Sakura and Yamato in the first and Naruto and Sai in the other. With Naruto still feeling exhaustion from the earlier Kyūbi incident, he and Sai take a rest in the halls of Orochi’s lair and discuss Sai’s brother some more. As Sai ponders the likeness between Naruto and his brother (using his picture book as a reference), the proprietor of the establishment pays them a visit.

I found the pacing of this chapter rather strange. Many of scenes could’ve maintained a chapter in themselves, assuming they were given enough thought and attention, and they happened in quick succession causing a weird sense of incoherency. The quality of storytelling in this arc as a whole has been somewhat bizarre for me. The massive Kyūbi battle didn’t feel as immense as it should have been, with the previous Sakura Vs. Sasori battle dwarfing it in excitement and tension, and this whole pursuit period has been needlessly drawn out with no real benefit. Still, we can’t fault this chapter for making things happen.

The Kabuto confrontation was disappointing: partly because of my own expectations for the fight and partly because Kishimoto was such a tease with it. As soon as Kabuto round-houses and disables Naruto’s Rasengan there’s a spark of excitement in the possibilities for the forthcoming battle. If Kabuto could counter one of Naruto’s mainstay attacks with such ease, what else could he handle? This was quickly negated by Sai as he disables him with a simple arm lock. Really, with a character like Kabuto whose key attacks benefit endlessly from physical contact with his foe, are we meant to believe it was that easy? The Naruto apologist in me (which is still surprisingly strong considering) wants to think this was merely a deception, but considering his subsequent attempt at mind-games I’m unsure.

Sai also continues to disappoint as a character, depending on the typical character archetype that I wish Kishimoto had subverted a wee bit more. I won’t deny the scene with him and Naruto as they rest and bond was touching to an extent, but also slightly languid. For Sai to be elevated above annoying fill-in he needs to have more robust and better-realised motivations. I get the feeling Kishimoto is improvising with this character and if he’s going to gain any real sympathy from the readers, with his martyr-like death continually looking inevitable, then Kishimoto needs to mix it up some more. But, as is the case with speculation halfway through, anything can potentially happen.

The art-work this chapter was actually really enjoyable, if only from a character design stand point. Naruto had a few wonderfully rendered expressions and the action, brief and fleeting as it was, remained sharp and concise. The sequential pacing grating occasionally with Kishimoto’s preference to change scenes two-thirds down a page, but it didn’t do much to hamper the decent level of quality throughout.

Apart from the strange inconsistencies, 304 proved to be an okay installment. Kishimoto hasn’t taken advantage of our patience any further and is pushing things forward, albeit with a confusing, slap-dash approach. I still really hope this arc is resolved in the next two or three chapters. Wishful thinking, I know, what with the forthcoming Sasuke confrontation and all the opportunities to drag things out that provides. Still, if there’s some more action I’ll be inclined to curb any criticism. Just stop this worrying trend of undermining yourself, Kishimoto.

Author: Masashi Kishimoto
Scanslation: Jichjuuriki

[SPOILER HEAVY]

Ah well, it wouldn’t be a Shonen Jump manga without at least one infuriating anti-climax a month. All the speculation of last week is officially floated with yet more exposition from Sai on Danzou’s intentions to overthrow Konoha. Sai explains his role as double agent between Danzou and Orochimaru, with his allegiance to Danzou. Sai explains that to pre-empt the inevitable double-cross from Orochi he must act as an intermediary between the two, using his abilities to cause what he writes in ink to fly away and inform Danzou of Orochi’s activities, keeping him one step ahead.

Sai continues to reel off the distinctly familiar ‘I’m just a tool etc etc.’ that crops up in Naruto just a wee bit too often. I hope the four-year ‘reset’ doesn’t go for the storylines too, with Kishimoto just doing analogues of the same old stuff. Granted, we still don’t know enough to draw these conclusions yet; the fanboy in me hopes and prays for a double bluff with lots of twists, but considering the snails pace that things are going at currently I wouldn’t be surprised if its all filler and little else. So far, annoyingly, it just seems to be the same old rubbish, right down to the parallels between Sai’s blond brotherly bond and the Two Brats. Naruto gives a nice demonstration of his conviction in saving Sasuke, but it’s nothing we haven’t heard before. I’m still at lengths to remember these golden days between Naruto and Sasuke, too. Sasuke always seemed like a bit of an arse-hole to Naruto.

I’d be lying if I said this story-line isn’t rapidly starting to wear thin. The scene where Kabuto discovers an empty cell was simply lazy and highly irritating. The artwork remains fairly uninspiring, too. Kishimoto needs to pull his finger out now the grace period for this arc has officially ended.

Director: Tsutomu Mizushima
Production: Production I.G.
Fansubs by Kyuu (1), Mishicorp (2)

After the wonderfully bizarre movie from Production I.G. I can’t help but feel a little spoilt with my expectations for the TV series of xxxHOLiC. The film was excellent, really capturing the feel of the manga and gave Production I.G. an imaginative platform to show their peerless flare for animation. Understandably the TV series operates on a much smaller scale (with a much smaller budget we’d assume) so some perspective is in order before we judge it based on that lovely bit of indulgence. Still, it’d be a lie to say that xxxHOLiC TV isn’t slightly shadowed by it’s feature-length sibling. When you combine the talent of Production I.G. and the budget to do them justice, it’s inevitable that some upstaging would happen. But still, beyond this initial prejudice, the TV series has fared well thus far. Production I.G. is still in charge of the production and Tsutomu Mizushima is retaining his role as director, so things are looking hopeful.

For me xxxHOLiC TV, so far, is ticking all the boxes. How much of a good thing this will prove to be is hard to say. The potential to do some really interesting things is definitely apparent, xxxHOLiC being more than accommodating for innovation (case in point: the film) but with these two episodes Production I.G. are playing it by the book (or manga, hurk hurk).

The characters and locations are set up nicely, capturing much of the personality of the manga without undermining its effortless cool. Yuko is as sultry and enigmatic as I would expect, with her more playful side given a reasonable amount of screen time too. Watanuki is clumsier than his manga counter-part, but this offers more opportunity for comedy and it works pretty well. The fanboy in me isn’t sure about TV Watanuki’s inadequacy in the kitchen, though – him being something of a culinary prodigy in the manga, but this isn’t especially important. He’s represented well and retains a lot of his endearing qualities from the manga. The brief appearances of Himawari and Doumeki didn’t suggest much variation from the manga versions either, though I wasn’t impressed by Domeki’s character design. Granted we only saw him for a few seconds and he was wearing his sport uniform, but his face and hair were strangely misshapen. Either way, I’m holding off judgment until we see him properly in the forthcoming episodes.

The plotlines of the manga are generally honoured well enough, but I did share the disappointment over the ‘nicer’ version of episode two’s ending. The manga had a more brutal, final fate for the pathological lier and it was sad to see the TV series undermining this with a sweeter conclusion. It did gave rise to some interesting discussion between Watanuki and Yuko afterwards and I can appreciate the decision for doing it from a storytelling point of view, but I just hope it isn’t a common occurrence for the show. The darker edge is what makes the manga so appealing to me. I love how the covert moral preaching is underpinned with some nasty demonstrations of the consequences. Let’s hope the TV execs haven’t been throwing their weight around and demanding it to be toned down. Time will tell, I suppose. Still, it could actually be a make-or-break situation for me and xxxHOLiC TV.

From a technical standpoint, the animation and sound is adequate. Much of the character design from the film is kept for the TV series and this is definitely a good thing, but there’s no doubt that this is a TV anime on every other account. But I don’t let me sell it short, xxxHOLiC TV has a good sense of design and a lush colour pallet that portrays the story nicely. There’s occasionally the odd ‘talking head’ but the character design is attractive enough that this doesn’t grate much. And assuming xxxHOLiC TV is going to be an on-going show (in the vein of Naruto or Bleach) rather than the typical 26-episode set, some compromises on the production values are to be expected.

Talking of design, I was happy to see that Yuko’s butterfly motif was given some more exposure in the TV show. It seems quite significant in the manga and I’m curious to see how xxxHOLiC TV will play with it – there being potential for some beautifully rendered scenes in the future.

Audibly speaking, I was quite impressed by the voice acting. I’m not sure how many roles were reprised from the film, but it’s certainly at that level of quality. Musically I found things to be quite underwhelming. The occasional instrumental piece was a nice surprise, but generally things were characterless and insignificant. This mentality is carried on to the opening and closing themes, which weren’t especially bad, just a bit uninteresting. Still, this doesn’t do much to undermine an appealing package, all in all. Let’s hope Production I.G. will keep up the consistency.

Conclusion
I enjoyed these two episodes. True, they weren’t an overtly impressive start to the series but xxxHOLiC has always been a slow-burner, working at its own pace and rewarding our patience. They’ve done a good job of capturing much of what I love about the manga, with the occasional compromise but still honouring its slightly dark, menacing personality and brilliant sense of style. The lack of a Tsubasa crossover was an interesting choice that I approve of, allowing xxxHOLiC some opportunity to shine independently of its sister-title for a change. All in all, I’m interested enough by these two episodes to see how things develop. Plus the promise of a fully animated pipe-fox spirit is almost too much for words. *runs away to his manga volumes to gush for a while* ARGH SO CUTE.

Director: Shukou Murase
Production: Geneon Entertainment, Inc.
Fansubs by Anime Jiyuu (4), Yoroshiku (5)

These two episodes concern themselves predominantly with Vincent and Pino as they experience life outside of Romdeau in a small settlement of extradited citizens called the commune. And, evidently, life outside of Romdeau ain’t pretty; a barren wasteland with bleak, unchanging skies and the dregs of Romdeau’s waste filling the landscape. Lil continues her stunted investigation into the mysteries of Proxy and its monster duple-ganger, with the level of confusing ambiguities in Ergo Proxy only being heightened when we find that Lil has discovered the dead body of Proxy, or so she believes. Raul, determining the location of Vincent on the outside after his run-in with a service drone, dispatches enforcements to deal with him and the commune. Preempting this, Lil flies out to meet Vincent and bring him back to Romdeau.

It’s obvious that Ergo Proxy isn’t a show that gets complacent, with this severe change in setting and tone being evidence of that. But generally it works; not at all hindered by a wry sense of humour and a number of endearing, uncharacteristically human moments. We get to spend some quality time with Vincent and Pino, both of whom are entirely likable for completely different reasons. The over-arching story continues, albeit just as bloody ambiguous as usual, and Lil takes a few more baby steps towards the truth. The small-scale politics of the settlement gets slightly tedious at times, with no one other than Queen showing any kind of intelligence, suggesting that her place as a recurring character perhaps. The tragedy she faces at the end of episode five only cements this notion by providing definite motivation in the form of a good old-fashioned vendetta and no loose ends. I’m quite happy about it, too, as she provides a nice jolt of common sense when it’s needed. We’ll just ignore her obvious placement as the tits-and-arse quota of the show. Some conventions are just inescapable, aren’t they?

We gain some interesting information on Proxy from Fuudy (or Hude, depending on the fansub), the somewhat cantankerous leader of the commune with a more than suspect track record for telling the truth. He calls Proxy a conjurer; a being able to change his appearance at will, moving in and out of existence with ease. This description opened up a lot of speculation on the physical existence of Proxy for me. Judging by what we’ve seen thus far it would make more than enough sense to consider Proxy more a mental affliction rather a physical one, perhaps supporting the notion of a Freudian super-ego/id set-up when considering him with his monster counter-part. Of course this doesn’t explain the havoc reeked by Proxy in the mall scene of episode two, but who is to say there hasn’t been a split since then? It would be fitting with Ergo Proxy’s cerebral nature, although a wee bit obvious too.

Technically speaking everything is maintained at a quality I have loads of respect for. Granted, the show still hasn’t captured the splendor of its first episode, but there hasn’t been the massively noticeable dip in animation as is often the case in anime. The action is still wonderfully fluid and the art style continues to hold up the stark, attractively noir visuals. The music keeps up the pace too, being appropriate and well utilised (especially in episode five’s final bleak scene). Ergo Proxy is holding its place as a top-tier production and I’m loving its style.

Conclusion
There’s always so much to talk about with Ergo Proxy and I think that goes a long way in explaining its attractiveness. Episodes four and five do something of a u-turn with the set-up of the show and it will likely be upheld for a number of episodes to come now Lil has been forcibly included. Even with this fairly drastic change of pace the quality is upheld with surprising authority. This isn’t to say things are all peachy-keen, however, with Ergo Proxy still having a whole shed-load of unexplained continuity problems. The ratio of questions:answers is still massively imbalanced by the former, but again I continue to enjoy its teasing ambiguous nature. It was nice to have some humour from Pino and Timothy’s exploits, too. A decent couple of episodes from a distinctly first-class anime!

Author: Masashi Kishimoto
Scanslation: Chikusho Scanslation Group

[SPOILER HEAVY]

In this chapter Sai is introduced to his lovely new suite at Chez Orochimaru, and it comes with the small fee of his freedom as Kabuto locks him inside in a show of obvious mistrust. Uncharacteristically, Kabuto also leaves a document of a shocking nature, or so we assume from Sai’s expression as he furiously reads away, in the room. Tension runs high as Kabuto makes his return just as Naruto, Sakura and Yamato bust their way in and confront Sai.

Whether Kabuto intentionally left this document behind as a means to covertly inform Sai of something, or it was merely an accident as we’re led to believe, it dangles the carrot for some potentially awesome action for the next chapter. I’ve been desperate for a proper Kabuto vs. ANYONE for a long time. The concept of medical ninja and their fight techniques are some of my favourites in Naruto and the possibility of a pissing contest between Sakura and Kabuto is almost too much. The fact that Kabuto ‘healed’ Sakura previously may suggest a weakness in her that he will exploit. But still, this is all hearsay. Who’s to bloody say what Kabuto will do. He’s nothing but reassuringly incomprehensible.

What was in this document and why it caused such a shock to Sai is also unknown. Speculation could extend to it being information on Sai’s brother/the test subjects, and this might explain why Kabuto ‘accidentally’ left it behind. This is quickly sidelined however when Naruto and co barge in and demonstrate their annoyance over being betrayed, albeit restrained and civil for the time being. And here’s me thinking they were dying to batter the shite out of the guy. Either way, Sakura lays on all the appropriate questions (such is her way), Sai admits his failure and happily obliges the information relating to Danzou’s coup plans. Suggesting Sai’s relative disinterest in his official mission much? Damn right. It’s becoming clearer by the minute what he’s got his mind set on.

This was a fairly standard transitory chapter. Because of the bland locales the artwork was fairly standard with nothing immediately impressive – although I loved the title image with Sai posing in front of one of his paintings. Minor plot gripes came from the relative ease for Naruto and co to get into Orochi’s hideout – it simply being a matter of Yamato sticking his wood in a crack. So to speak. Still, it sets up a potentially charged and exciting forthcoming chapter as Kabuto approaches the room occupied by the whole gang. Hopefully Kishimoto won’t pull and Dragonball and needlessly drag this out. I’m more than ready for another Sakura smack-down. Or a Kabuto one, for that matter. We do like a spot of violence now and again.

Author: Shin Takahashi
Publisher: VIZ

All Chise ever wanted to do was fall in love. But things never worked out for the cute high school girl. Once she accepted her destiny as Japan’s ultimate war machine, she never had time for stuff like boyfriends and promise rings.

Now, with the war almost over, Chise begins to realize that her last chance for happiness is slipping away forever. Desperately trying to reclaim the humanity that she lost, the shy teenager makes one last bid for true love.

But is it too late? Has Chise lost the opportunity to experience the most basic of all human emotions? Despite her awesome arsenal of military might, Chise has never been able to take control of her own personal life. The war is ending and the world is about to explode. Cue up the last love song on this little planet.

With this, the seventh and final volume, Saikano draws to a close with all the terrifying beauty it has maintained throughout its short run. Really, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the same array of emotions, all so severe and extreme in nature, with any kind of fiction as I have Saikano. If I were somehow appointed Lord of Manga it would be among the first titles I’d make cannon. There are few finer examples of the human condition with all its magnificence and ugliness represented so acutely. So yep, yet another moderately bias manga review from HVO. People will start to think I only review the manga I like . . . *shifty eyed*

But to suggest I think Saikano is perfect would be wrong. I could spend a good 500 words recounting all the niggles and problems I had with it as I experienced these dramatic highs and lows, but my biggest contention is Saikano’s art. While there is a lot of striking beauty to be found in it, if only in the stunning covers, I just don’t enjoy Takahashi’s character designs. Not to suggest they don’t do their job well; I simply found them (especially Shuji) to be bulky and unrefined. Perhaps my preference for the panther-like sleekness of xxxHOLiC or the robustness of modern Naruto is to blame. Still, it’s something I never came to really accept over the course of the series. The strange mix of photography and drawn media for the backgrounds grated somewhat, too. Yet, these gripes rarely interfered with the deep emotional connection I came to form with this manga. As with most artistic pursuits: good writing always prevails.

This is a massive volume and it covers a lot of ground before the inevitably bleak but entirely moving conclusion. Chise and Shuji demonstrate the disarming bravery that has made their love story so enduring as they prepare for Chise’s impending deterioration now only one pill (that sustains the weapon parts of her body) remains. The scenes between Shuji and Chise, whose voice has become inaudible to human ears, are touching beyond mere words. The awareness and understanding Shuji shows for Chise as he affectionately compensates for her blank replies truly demonstrates how their love has developed past the initial awkwardness into something deep and genuine. This of course makes witnessing Chise’s slow death all that more unbearable. Mercifully, Shuji thinks the same way and gives her back to the JSDF to be ‘repaired’. With this the pair are separated for a number of chapters as Shuji returns home to the newly named ‘Chise’s Town’, a place that remains protected by Chise from the hugely destructive war that goes on around it.

Chise and Shuji are later reunited for one of Saikano’s most explicit sex scenes, which last for two or three chapters. I had a number of problems with this – none of which actually relate to it being sex scene; we got fair warning of this from the shrink-wrapping and the invasive message on the cover. I’m not bothered by sex in manga at all. My main issue is to do with Chise’s objectification and detachment of personality during these scenes. Firstly, Chise does not look seventeen-years-old. She looks more like a twelve-year-old. Regardless of how much her underdevelopment is elaborated on I couldn’t help but feel massively uncomfortable as she is subjected to Shuji’s sexual desires. The entire scene was needlessly gratuitous and it went to places I wish Takahashi had shown more restraint in indulging. The raging feminist in me wants to rant endlessly on the huge, huge issues I have with Japan’s little girl fetish and the objectification of women in general, but I’ll suffice in stating it really is the biggest strife I have with Japanese media. Saikano Vol. 7 goes to no lengths to avoid this repulsive convention and it truly undermined much of my love for series. The fact that Chise at this point is nothing more than a mindless weapon with ‘the right holes’ only aggravated me further.

Conclusion
This aside, volume seven of Saikano is still a moving end to one of the most crushingly beautiful things I have ever read. It never reached literary levels of writing or plot, but the sense of development was so grand in scale and the levels of pathos so overflowing it was often difficult to maintain composure while reading. We cared for every single character, incidental or otherwise, and Chise & Shuji’s love story was represented with a brutal honestly rarely found in any kind of fiction, let alone the sphere of young adult male manga. The war setting and the gimmick of Chise’s abilities never encroached on what is fundamentally a love story and for this Takahashi receives extra kudos. I look forward to the day in the near future where I sit down, read every volume in succession and enjoy it like a fine vintage. Exceptional stuff.

Director: Shukou Murase
Production: Geneon Entertainment, Inc.
Fansubs by Anime Jiyuu

‘Raison d’être’ – French for ‘reason for being’ and quite apt in summarising these two episodes, whose focus on the previously maligned Vincent goes a long way in unraveling the continuing mysteries of the show and reflects much upon how we as people strive to find a place in the society we inhabit.

I had a hunch there was something not quite right about Vincent from the beginning. The first episode of Ergo Proxy almost tried too hard to undermine him, constantly showing his mistakes and rarely giving him a clear, direct camera shot. His eyes were permanently shut, much in the same way Lil’s are painted blue, reflecting a sense of character as much as being an interesting design choice. Vincent was played down to be as insignificant as possible, so when the truth was revealed at the end of episode two, or the murky suggestion of the truth, we were shocked. And I’ll admit, it worked.


But this doesn’t necessarily imply that we’re given much clarity, story-wise. Vincent’s role is given greater importance, true, but we’ve yet to know the truth of his connection to Proxy. And there’s literally no new information on Proxy himself, the monster or their interest in Lil. Vincent’s previous history with Lil is sometimes vaguely hinted at but again, bugger knows how/what/when. These quibbles linger in the corner of our minds as we watch, but because of the immediacy of Ergo Proxy’s pacing they rarely get a chance to develop.

In many ways the fast pace of Ergo Proxy saves it from being utterly confounding. The authority I previously mentioned is maintained well in these episodes and while we may be somewhat bewildered by current events, there’s never a concern that Ergo Proxy doesn’t have a specific aim in mind. If anything, the show could be criticised for being too pre-meditated at the cost of characterisation, but assuming we’ve got another twenty-odd episodes to come, some patience may be in order for these issues. Cards are held close to chests with Ergo Proxy, and I’m really enjoying piecing the fragments of information together as they’re slowly fed to us. I don’t think I’ve actively theorised over an anime like this since Evangelion and comparisons to the daddy of TV anime is hardly a bad thing.


At the core of some of these mysteries is the character Raul, the man responsible for tracking and capturing Proxy, as well as covering up its movements. From this we’re led to understand that Raul has orchestrated a series of uncertainties around Lil’s account of the attack at the end of episode one; undermining her certainty and suggesting an emotional instability in the form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Not able to actively work until cleared by her doctor Daedalus (the chief medical scientist responsible for Proxy, suspiciously enough), Lil’s resourcefulness is crippled and the truth further slips from her grasp. Donov, her grandfather and Regent of Romdeau, goes to lengths to monitor her activities and fosters a great deal of distrust in Lil, even down to the aimable Entourage Iggy. These factors all contribute to the belief that Raul is fabricating the truth for the sake of covering up Proxy; or at least until the conclusion of episode two where the connection between Vincent and Proxy is revealed to be much more direct. And so, our previous understanding of events is completely flouted. Perhaps what Lil saw isn’t the truth and her mental state is in question. After all, how can she explain finding Vincent’s neck chain at the crime scene? Much like Evangelion, it seems Ergo Proxy enjoys being something of a mindfuck.


With the advent of a title theme in episode three this would be a good time to discuss Ergo Proxy’s music. I do not like the opening theme. It smacks of a rubbish U2/Coldplay rip-off and the lyrics are simply heinous. I know the cheese-factor of anime openers is expectedly high, but this is pain awful. It’s really a shame, too, because I enjoy the opening animation quite a lot. I wonder if Geneon USA’s shady influence had anything to do with this. The choice of Radiohead’s ‘Paranoid Android’ as an ending theme is still something of an undecided topic for me, too. I love Radiohead and I appreciate the choice of this song, even applaud the use of band music, but it does lack subtly. Even when considering the deeper meanings of ‘Paranoid Android’ it doesn’t do much to humble an already conceited show. Still, I’m generally pleased they used it and look forward to Radiohead’s exposure to a different audience. I much prefer ‘Let Down’, though. <3

While we're on the subject of the technical: these episodes do show a very slight drop in quality for the animation, mostly in terms of detail. This barely matters, however, as Ergo Proxy is still utterly beautiful. Its colour remains muted but rich and vibrant, backgrounds are as fantastic as the previous episode and everything else is simply top-grade. The level of detail may have dropped a touch, but animation gains endless brownie points for just being consistent. The show is really a great achievement in quality and sets the standard of being gorgeous without being ostentatious. I honestly can’t wait to see this show with a DVD-quality transfer. It’s going to be stunning.


Conclusion
The cerebral nature of Ergo Proxy is fascinating. It has a great pace and keeps us on our toes, drip-feeding tiny pieces of information and constantly undermining any certainty we may have been arrogant enough to decide. Sacrifices are made for the sake of this swift pace, however, with issues of vagueness and inadequate characterization still apparent. Yet, at this early point in the show some tolerance needs to be maintained, because I think we’ll be rewarded for it in the long run. Ergo Proxy is just one of those shows that rewards endurance. It also reminds me of why I enjoy anime so much. Roll on the next episode!

Author: Masashi Kishimoto
Scanslated by Naruto Bunshin Scanslation Team

[SPOILER HEAVY]

This week Naruto, Sakura and Yamato start their pursuit of Sai, Orochimaru and Kabuto, and, they hope, Sasuke as a consequence. Sakura and Naruto decide that they’ll really save Sasuke this time and Sai has an interesting conversation with Sasuke.

Much like 300, this is another narrative-heavy chapter. We witness that Sai isn’t impervious to Sasuke’s Sharingan (now demonstrating a headfeck-like ability strikingly similar to Itachi’s), regardless of his supposed lack of emotion. Sasuke also thinks Sai is a bit of a pleb and initially discounts him, until talk of Naruto rouses his interest. Sasuke seems to lower his guard for a moment but ultimately reels off the same old “whinge whinge, I want to kill my real brother”, gives us a nice silhouetted surl and disappears, without giving us a proper look to his older self. Orochimaru hands Kabuto a packet of information on the ANBU serving under Tsunade, requesting he make a bingo book (databook) on each. The reason for this beyond the obvious isn’t made clear, but it goes a nice way of reminding us of Orochi’s grander plans and also shows Kabuto that Konoha aren’t messing around, Yamato being the real deal.

Yamato reveals his ‘other job’ as a drug dealer, scoring Saruka and Naruto some pretty wicked pills . . . but sadly they aren’t disco biscuits; rather a means of surveillance if the party gets split up. Yamato also reveals his potential for being a date-rapist, explaining that he slipped a pill in Sai’s food during the massive feast they had before the mission. This clears up the confusion over how he was able to track them so accurately and also enforces the distinct lack of trust Konoha have for Sai. I’d love to see what the fan community do with some of these panels, though. The scene almost demands a spoofing.

We aren’t given much more insight to Sai’s motivations or his alliances this chapter, but I’m still sure he’s motivated by personal reasons – more specifically his older brother. How this relates to the test subjects utilised by Kabuto and Orochi during their experiments we don’t know, but it’s certainly fair to assume there’s a connection. Based on Kishimoto’s penchant for parallels Sai’s reasoning may even bare striking resemblance to Sasuke’s vengeance crusade; or perhaps just a schmaltzy demonstration of brother-love that Sasuke and Naruto have fostered over the past year or so. Regardless, I hope this arc is given some more clarity soon. I enjoy exposition chapters, but too many in a row can be a little boring.

I have a worrying suspicion that Kishimoto might be setting up Sasuke to find his redemption in his acknowledgement of the family he has in Naruto and Sakura. And once he accepts this he won’t have to kill his real brother, Itachi. Obviously, from my hardened 21-year-old perspective this would suck arse, but remember this is a comic for young boys and good examples need to be set. I know, I hate it when Moral Conscience gets in the way of a good bit of carnage, but we have to think of the children now and again. We wouldn’t want to be raising a generation of vengeance-seeking psychos, after all. Cool as it would be.

For accuracy’s sake these posts will be called ‘Editorial #’ following this one. I was still young and naïve when I thought I could write one of these every month, let alone update the web site, so let’s acknowledge the hard truth of the matter and move on. I’m willing to deny all knowledge of defeat if you are. <3

But other than the lack of consistency, I'm really enjoying this. It's good to write something of merit every day and one of the key reasons for HVO's existence is so that I have a vehicle to develop potential journalistic technique. Not to suggest I have any of that stuff yet, but it's good to have aims with these things. The act of writing for extended periods of time is slowly becoming more natural and all in all, I reckon I'm knocking out good stuff.

Assuming I maintain the weekly Naruto summaries (set to be posted every Monday, quality scanslations permitting) and keep up with Ergo Proxy (bandwidth limits permitting D;), I should have a few new articles up every week. Of course when university starts up again and exams rear their obnoxious heads this could potentially go out the window, but as I say, it’s good to have targets to aspire to. Of course, as an uncouth student of Literature I reserve any right to completely underachieve in this endeavour, but eh, you know what bloody students are like. Drains on society, the lot of them. But I’ll do my best, I promise.

*cracks open cider, snuggles into ill-fitting woollen garment, pretends the weed is medicinal*

Site-wise I much prefer this layout in comparison to the previous one; much cleaner and nicer to look at. Plus you can’t beat a bit of Gunbuster love in the head image. My next goal is to upgrade to a publishing system that allows categories like Movable Type or Word Press, because it’s especially useful to list by series in these kinds of blogs. No idea when this will happen, mind, but I’m secretly hoping Blogger will make some wonderful announcement soon and save me the trouble. I’ve always thought it a bit strange that they don’t offer categories as an option . . . unless I’m missing something? Regardless, finding a new host to accommodate for Word Press etc. might take some time.

Generally speaking it’s been a good few months. I still wish VIZ would schedule the release of Monster and Naruto in a more humane fashion (the same goes for Delrey and xxxHOLiC, damn it) and my prospects for actual anime purchases are still pretty unfocused. Having been horrified by Wolf’s Rain’s opening theme (Yoko, how could you?) and unsure if I actually want to lay down money for something that thinks 80s cheese is a good choice of opener, regardless of how awesome the actual show looks, has thrown me into a state of mild turmoil. Maybe when Play does a sale I might take the risk, but for now I’m going to humour my music neurosis. Ergo Proxy has got me reconsidering Samurai Champloo and I’ve ordered the first DVD, ever the more curious. Dragon Quest VIII (simply Dragon Quest: The Journey Of The Cursed King here in Europe) is finally getting its PAL release in April. So yeah, plenty of Japanese whatsits to keep me occupied. Let’s just see if I’ve got something interesting to write about them.

Signed,
Hige