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Here we go: an obscure, late-1980s direct-to-Laserdisc robot show produced by Sunrise (a.k.a the Gundam guys) based on a classic 1950s science fiction novel by American Robert A. Heinlein. Now that’s the kind of crap we like here at Colony Drop. It’s not the first adaptation of Heinlein’s book, nor is it the only animated one, but it’s definitely the most Japanese. In the interests of providing proper commentary, I took a trip to my local library to refresh my memory on the finer details. Let’s compare and contrast!
If you got into Japanese cartoons around the late 1990s like I did, odds are one of the first shows you saw was some incarnation of Slayers. If so, don’t bother clicking “More". You already know exactly what to expect from Slayers Revolution, the first new season of the Slayers TV series in a decade. Aside from being digitally produced and broadcast in widescreen, the show is exactly as you remember it. The entire Japanese cast is back reprising their roles, Megumi Hayashibara’s opening and closing theme songs are exactly the same sort of 90s J-pop that book-ended previous seasons, the score is identical to past seasons, the show is still immediately going off on questionably-written filler tangents, etc., etc. It’s pure nostalgia, and you know what? I love the stupid piece of crap.
Here’s a production that was doomed from the start: Koichi Mashimo, director of just about every .hack animated production as well as Noir and its spiritual successors, and Bee Train, the animation studio responsible for producing these fine television programs, hired to make an animated TV adaptation of Hiroaki Samura’s long-running samurai action comic Blade of the Immortal. I almost want to pity Mr. Mashimo - he peaked in 1993 with The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, a delightful farce about an idiot who may or may not be a brilliant tactician who bullshits his way into the military in the hopes of getting a boring, cushy desk job and ends up stumbling his way into bigger and more dangerous situations. But he’s still getting work, so obviously somebody out there likes his recent work.
Technically it’s not a TV series, but it is brand new this summer. Did any of you watch Psalms of Planets Eureka Seven on the Cartoon Network? Yeah, that show was a total mess, wasn’t it? It sure was pretty and fun sometimes, though! Studio Bones, the folks behind Eureka Seven, are back with a new show that looks and feels a whole lot like it, but hopefully with a bit less of the awkward shout-outs to prior giant robot shows and more shout-outs to transforming hero shows and Studio Ghibli’s productions. Unfortunately, you’ve got a bit of work ahead of you to watch this show. It’s only available on PSN, i.e. the Playstation 3’s online store, and it’s only available as a 24-hour rental ($4 gets you the gorgeous 1080p HD version). Oh, and it’s only available in the United States of America for the next few months.
I’m not going to lie, the idea of of a Gundam-themed bar sounded cool. As much as I try not to be a sad jerk when it comes to my fanboyish tendencies, a drinking establishment swathed in Gundam memorabilia staffed by young Japanese girls wearing limited-edition COSPA Gundam tshirts serving me various drinks named after characters and mecha from the Gundam franchise sounded cool. I figured as long as I had my limited-edition Zeta Gundam Playstation 2 and my Anaheim Electronics jacket, such a place would be worth a visit. I got my chance a few months after moving to Tokyo, when a friend was in town for a visit and we decided to check out the Gundam Bar.
So if you pay attention to news related to Japanese cartoons at all, you might be aware that the industry is in trouble. On this side of the pond and in Glorious Nippon, the people who make their livelihoods by producing, localizing, and distributing Japanese cartoons are absolutely terrified of the digital fansub revolution. Their shows are translated and distributed illegally through sites like Youtube for anyone to watch without paying them a dime, and worse, frequently less scrupulous individuals are getting paid for it! Some companies are fighting back by suddenly canceling all their future releases; others are fighting back by trying to convince American consumers to pay twice as much for half the content and then getting absorbed into their older, more-successful cousin.
This season, Studio GONZO has a new plan that’s just might be crazy enough to work: Officially translate and subtitle each episode of their new shows and then upload them to Youtube and Crunchyroll, a site which profits by offering fansubs for paid download, the same day these shows air on Japanese TV. That’s right - they can’t beat the bootleggers, so they’re letting them sell their product for a cut of the profits. What sort of show would they try such a crazy plan on? Why, a MMORPG tie-in, of course!