ROD the TV (end)

4:47 PM 1/11/2006

Ah yes, ROD, how did I manage to stop watching this? I love the premise of this series simply because it's impossible to explain to someone with words. Believe me, I've tried. "Oh, they can control paper. Like, they can make weapons and monsters and vehicles and clothes and just about anything the writers can come up with." It makes no sense in words, but if you actually watch the series you'll find that the writers and animators somehow manage to pull this off. At least, I think that they do.

So, I finally got around to finishing off this series. I think had gotten bored with the story. I'll admit I was still a bit bored by it. It's good enough to make you want to keep watching it, but not good enough to call it a really good story. I wonder if I'm really missing out by not having watched the OVA before tv series? Oh well. They do an excellent job of creating and using characters, though. There were many primary characters and not a single one managed to annoy me. That really payed off at the end when they split into three smaller groups. Each group kept my interest and each group seemed important to the story.

In summary, I wasn't blown away by the ending, but it was good enough. It tied up all the loose ends and nobody important was killed. That's pretty rare in anime, and it's good to see it every now and again. I definately recommend you go watch this series if you can find it (I'd link to it, but it's licensed now...).

Bonus Spoilers!

Yes, these are spoilers, so you may want to stop reading now if you intend on watching this series. Ok, a few random images now. First, there was Drake wearing a hat. Drake is probably my favorite male anime character and I don't even know why. The derby hat seals the deal. Second, there was a scene at the end where Anita jumps off of Yomiko (The Paper) to get closer to Junior. When I was scrubbing the scene for screencaps, I noticed that she actually launches herself from off of Yomiko's breasts. Whatever works, I guess. Third, why did Nancy decide to wear some ninja-suit she finds lying around? She wore dark clothes anyway and apparently what she was wearing into the building was good enough for the break-in (since she did manage to make it to the suit...). I wouldn't be so bothered by this if the suit wasn't designed merely to show off her cleavage. I mean, honestly, she was the most reserved and depressing walking tear-duct the show had and they choose her, of all the characters, to show her breats right at the end. Makes no sense to me. Fourth, crazy new vehicles. I'm a sucker for the simple ones. There's the sphere, which allowed them to crush buildings and roll through a helicopter. And then there's the paper airplane. It seems so obvious now, but I never expected to see it. I'm so glad that they did, though. Fifth, watches, watches, watches!

Aria the Animation (ep01)

10:21 AM 10/24/2005

I think I may have stumbled upon this season's most disengaged anime. The setup is quite grand, though. The planet Mars, now renamed planet Aqua, has been terraformed into a water planet. That is, there's a whole lot of water and not so much land. The main character, Akari, has come from Earth to Aqua in order to become, get this, a professional Gondolier. The great city of Neo-Venezia (which is mangled English for New Venice) is where she comes to reside. It is a city comprised of old buildings and lots of water. I can only assume that the architects were going for some kind of tourist asthetic when they built it, since, if they've figured how to terraform planets, I think they would have advanced their masonry skills a bit further than this. She is taken in as an apprentice (somehow) to the unquestioned best gondolier on the planet, Alicia Florence.

At this point, my interest in the series is trying to guess which Italian city is going to be referenced next. Despite the obvious inaccuracies, I'm hoping for a superhero named Captain Vatican.

So, what of the episode's actual content? Akari goes to practice rowing the gondola and a creepy-looking girl is in the boat. She decides to give her a free ride, since she isn't able to take customers during her apprenticeship. They talk about the girl's life, run into another apprentice gondolier, eat some baked potatos, and then watch a dog (or something resembling a dog) get rescued by Alicia. It all ends with a forced dialogue between Akari and Alicia about sibling harmony (or so it was translated).

If not for the forced moral at the end, this really wouldn't have been too bad. I don't mind if there's a moral, but I don't need a dialogue at the end explaining the moral to me. The storytelling is good enough as it is and didn't need this kind of clarification. I'll definately watch the second episode, though.

Wacky Canon Commerical

9:31 PM 10/23/2005

I finished getting the next batch of commercials off of HongFire today. I haven't watched all of them yet, but there is one that I've seen that really stands out. The product is a Canon "Hybrid Laser" copy machine. I don't know what's being mixed with the laser, but the commercial makes it seem as if they are combining lasers and Asian models to create something that makes copies.

The premise is simple, really. Two guys are in the office and need to make copies. Just then, the copier morphs into a woman and starts shooting copies out of her breasts. That's right. Shooting copies from out of her breasts. Well, from near her breasts at the very least. It then goes on to, I believe, actually explain the product, all while one of the two guys from earlier gawks at her rack.

Ha. I made a funny.

At this point, I really wish I had some authority to analyze the cultural significance of a commercial like this. I mean, is this supposed to be a sararyman's primal daydream, or is Canon hoping to strike a chord with sararymen everywhere by creating some sort of convoluted fantasy? Whatever the meaning may actually be (if there is a meaning at all), it is at the very least entertaining.