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2.5

ergo proxy

Ergo Proxy

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Alternate Titles: None

Original Japanese Release Date: 2006

Episode Length/Run-time: 23

Summary:

The world has been ravaged by years of war and the environment has long since been reduced to little more than desert and mud.  In this post-apocalyptic world an Eden rises from the despair in the form of a city-state known as Romdo.  However to remain here all personal sovereignty and feelings must be sacrificed to the will of the whole and specifically the government.  Re-l Mayer (Pronounced ReAl) is the daughter of one of these politicians and part of the Citizen Information Bureau.  As mysterious murders break out she is sent to investigate with her autorev (android servants to the humans) partner Iggy.  Re-l discovers a mysterious affliction in the autorevs known as cognito which is prompting them to gain free-will.  Adding to the mystery and confusion a strange creature attacks her, known as a Proxy, which is neither human nor android.

Review:

If the summary didn’t give it away this anime is jam-packed with mysteries, symbolism, half-truths, and misleading information.  The problem is it ends up trying to do too much at once.  As the viewer you need a road map, a translation guide, and a manual to follow this series.  You’ll find yourself being confused if something is representative of another thing, purely symbolic, or literal.  As a result you end up getting confused about key progression.  There were a few points where I re-watched the dialogue about four times to get a vague idea of what they were talking about.  Some episodes give way too much information all at once, and other episodes seem to be borderline filler.

The psychological aspects aside the world is very nice.  Sometimes the animation does seem a little too dark (literally).  But, it adds to the overall gritty feeling of the world and the dark despair.

Overall it’s something which you have to be in the mood for to really sit down and watch.  And, even then, you may not get anything.  That being said, I don’t think you should have to have a PHD to understand an anime.  And even if it is that sophisticated they should offer better explanations for the intellectual and non-intellectual viewer.

[starrater]

darker than black

Darker than Black

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Alternate Titles: Kuro no Keiyakusha

Original Japanese Release Date: 2007

Episode Length/Run-time: 26

Summary:

Hei is what’s known as a contractor.  Someone with super-psychic powers who can only wield them if he fulfills a part of his contract as a result.  The powers of contractors varies as well as the demands of their contract.  These psychically powered people appeared 10 years ago, at the same time as the mysterious “hell gate.”  A mysterious field which no one enters in or out.  Hei works with Yin to discover the secrets of the Hell Gate against rival organizations and contractors.

Review:

Darker than Black is arc based.  Every four or so episodes a new arc is introduced in which the overall story is progressed.  This is one of the big problems in that some arcs are really well done in characters/villains/story where others are just okay at best.  However the “overall story” is minimal, they introduce all these cool concepts like rival organizations and the “Hell Gate” giving you the perspective that this will be the focus but the anime is definitely character-driven.  Which, I generally have no problem with but the issue with Darker than Black is that the characters are on the whole are generally boring as hell.  They use a plot device that the emotions of the contractors are diminished, and they generally focus on logic.  Which I can respect.  But that makes for boring characters! What do we love about a character? Their emotions, their hopes, their dreams, their screw-ups.  To follow a character who doesn’t have or do these things makes for a dull watch.

This series is a mature, thoughtful series.  But despite the fact that it does have action it ends up being dull and the spotty arcs yield it to be average at best. Animation is consistent through the series which is nice.  Though the best thing about this series is the music.  Composed by Yoko Kanno it should be obvious how high-quality and well put together it is.

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chis sweet home

Chi’s Sweet Home

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Alternate Titles: (none)

Original Japanese Release Date: #

Episode Length/Run-time: 104 (3-minute episodes)

Summary:

Chi, a cute and lovable kitten is one day separated from her mother.  Feeling hopeless after her attempts to be rejoined with her family fail she is discovered by a young boy named Youhei of the Yamada family.  Despite living in an apartment which doesn’t allow pets the family decides to take Chi in and help her find a more permanent home.  Hilarity ensues as Chi grows and lives with the family as the ultimately face the final decision of what to do with her, or their home.

Review:

Chi’s sweet home from a technical standpoint of animation, music, plot and characters offers, well little to nothing.  At best the characters are extraordinarily lovable however one-dimensional they all really are.  This is the primary reason why the score is so low.

But lets face it, who is watching this anime for the plot?  No one! And if you are I recommend you stop.  This anime is cute out the wazoo. It’ll make you giggle, laugh and it’ll steal your heart.  Chi’s lovable and earnest antics will win over almost anyone’s heart (even the most devout dog lover’s).

The anime is shown from primarily her perspective.  So while you understand why, for example, the family has to hide Chi you also see that she has no idea what’s going on.  As a result it gives you a clever insight into a cat’s mind when they see a piece of string, or an interesting thing outside of the window.

Overall this anime is one that makes me smile.  While it may be a 2.5 critically, from sheer enjoyment I’d give it a 5/5