“You should have paid more attention to Rock’s joke, Benny-Boy.” Quips Dutch, a sweating shadow of his composed former self, having just seconds before been subjected to the vicious blood lust (and impossibly strong arms) of an ass-kicking maid from hell. “Imagine her as an invincible killer robot.”
The set up for this story arc is so simple and yet it works so well. Not since Spike crossed guns with Pierre Le Fou or Rock Lee went kung-fu on Gaara have I been so viscerally thrilled by an episode of anime. The fluidity of movement, the sense of an unstoppable power being unleashed, it’s all here, taken to school with a pumping electronic soundtrack, achingly cool aesthetics and the sheer absurdity of what is rapidly exploding infront of us.
This is all such a great fun because of the realistic ways in which the character’s react to their increasingly insane situations- it’s easy to see that Dutch and his crew are genuinely disturbed by the cute T-1000 (and her massive knife) chasing their moving car down the street, and as a viewer, this powerfully conveys the intense danger in which they find themselves.
Black Lagoon 9 is a jolting visceral experience, the kind of quirky action-packed genius Tarrentino would die to replicate, and as hard as I’ve tried, you can’t do justice to such a buzzing spectacle with mere words alone.
Tag: action
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Black Lagoon – 8 – Best.maid.ever
I write this post in lieu of discovering that Black Lagoon, surely the best anime airing in Japan at the moment, will only last a measly 12 episodes, and although I have heard rumblings that it should be continued in OVA form (no doubt adapting as yet unwritten manga chapters), 12 damn episodes just isn’t enough for a series as outright fun and exciting as Black Lagoon.
Now with that emotional outburst cleared from my system, it is with a reluctant joy that I can say that episode 8 is possibly the best yet. In terms of sheer climatic build up, the last 12 minutes were close to perfection. We’ve already had the absurdity of nuns with guns, so it seems worryingly natural that the newest character would be a military-trained South American house maid. It’s the way this character is introduced; the music is ripped straight from The Godfather as this cute-looking killer wanders from person to person, innocently inquiring about where to find the local Columbian mafia. Her young master narrates her journey, slowly building the powerful aura surrounding her and then you have the sunglasses, such a fucking cool look.
All this and we’ve yet to even see her in action. Just as she shoots her umbrella, the ending theme seeps in and that’s it. More next week. It’s one big tease, but damn, it’s really something.
Having marched across endless miles of desolate landscapes and lifeless desert, Luffy finally snaps at Vivi and in his own unique way, lets her know a few important home truths; while admirable, her selfless pacifism can not save lives. Villains like Crocodile care not for reason and act not out of compassion, but rather their own greedy ambition. Nothing Vivi can say will stop him from trying to destroy her kingdom and take Alabasta as his own paradise, so it’s down to the likes of Luffy to fight the good fight and Vivi to rely on her nakama. She alone cannot save her country.
It’s great how Luffy explains all of this and he takes quite a beating from the Princess in the process. I love how characters like Luffy and Naruto, who act like such mindless idiots most of the time, can flick a switch and suddenly embody such wise and intelligent philosophy.
A clear direction for the Alabasta arc is now firmly set; Luffy is to hunt down Crocodile and I assume Princess Vivi will continue on to meet with the rebel army in the hope of talking them down from going to all out war (I wait in anticipation of her inevitably draining reunion with childhood friend turned influential rebel Leader). At this point One Piece is a truly country-spanning adventure of vast and epic proportions. Between such massive distance, thought provoking politics and compelling drama, I find myself relishing each and every episode.
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Naruto – 188 – Fear the piranhas of death
As much as I want to be surprised by these Naruto episodes, as much as I want to watch some gripping drama, desperate sacrifices and shocking deaths, it’s not going to happen. I know that, you know that. To complain any more would be a waste of time.
With your expectations so low, it is possible to still enjoy Naruto. This episode is a good example of how such a colourful, varied world and exciting premise can just about carry what amounts to a bunch of wafer-thin cardboard characters. The essence of what makes this such a fun series is still alive and kicking; the ninja. And try as they might, Studio Pierrot can’t make ninja boring.
Revenge, honour, tactics and technique are all brought into this story arc and while I’m hesitant to outright praise this ultimately generic effort (the disguised male peddler is actually a beautiful princess, didn’t ya know?), I will always enjoy watching supernatural ninja pound the crap out of each other. There is something so fun about Naruto getting trapped in a sphere of floating water infested with flesh-eating piranhas! Coolest-technique-ever!
I wouldn’t recommend watching these episodes one after the other (such superficial enjoyment barely stretches 22 minutes), but it’s a fun way to while away a hot, lazy June afternoon.
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Black Lagoon – 7 – Personality clash
The ticking time bomb of Revy’s personality finally explodes in the face of Rock, though gratefully he also snaps back and unfurls a passionate rant all of his own. It’s easy to imagine Rock being your typical male doormat, but here he stands up for himself and proves he too has an unbreakable steely quality beneath his tentative nature.
Revy, who often uses Rock’s middle-class background as a reason to insult him, is firmly put in her place and suddenly they have a new-found respect for one another. Rock has proven to Revy that he is willing to risk it all for the Lagoon, even if it took a black-eye and a gun to the head.
Amidst all this, there is treasure chest of absurd humour and quirky gimmicks to found in a wily mob of arms-dealing, drugs-smuggling nuns; all headed up by a sweet old lady with a specific taste for quality tea. I love how Black Lagoon is set in such a dead-pan and colourful paradise for unconventional criminals of all shapes, scars and sizes!
It’s clear by now that Black Lagoon will be Rock and Revy’s show; the action scenes in these episodes are as expected absolutely kick ass, though the majority of what Black Lagoon is driving at is Revy’s humanity (or lack there of). Having slaughtered dozens of Neo-Nazi bastards, she nonchalantly explains to Dutch that she can no longer work with Rock.
Revy’s super human killing instinct is borne from an absolute disdain for life (including her own); she can kill so many people because to her they are nothing. However since Rock turned up and started questioning her brutal ways, Revy has started doubting herself too, and it’s that split second of hesitation that can cost her life. Assassins can’t afford to have morals.
On a totally superficial level, it was great to see Dutch kicking some Nazi ass too; he is the cold, calculated hit man to Revy’s indiscriminate kill-everything-that-moves motto of death. The inevitable Nazi showdown was edgy in how it soundlessly depicted Revy just walking from room to room, shooting men by the dozen. There is such an exhilarating discard for life during these moments that you can’t help but love it.
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Naruto – 187 – Taste the Flower Ninpo
The problem with these Naruto fillers is that while they are not particularly good, they are not particularly bad either – they are just by-the-books action adventure. Over this past year Studio Pierrot have become the masters of just filling 22 minutes with the most inoffensive, straight forward ninja action you are ever likely to see.
This week’s instalment again sees us repeat that same old formula; Tsunade makes her token office appearance and jokingly briefs Naruto and his random team of the month (Hinata and Chouji) on another mission to do with protecting a bunch of weak villagers who find themselves under the thumb of a group of classic cliche villains. Naturally Naruto gets to do his Shadow Clone thing. It’s like being stuck in a time warp, repeating the same mission again and again; may be I’m trapped inside someone’s sadistic Mangekyou Sharingan?
As ever, episode 187 was a fun way to spend 22 minutes and the action regained the series’ trademark of slick fluidity and cutting motion but still, the complete lack of story progression and character development is hurting me something chronic. I hope and pray that Naruto is too good to rely on this overly familiar, mind numbing formula for too much longer.
Much like a snowball rolling down a mountain, my outright love of One Piece is now out of control, ready to smash anything that dares stand in its way. I’d seen images of Chopper before this arc, but never did I expect his history to be so frightfully tear jerking, so utterly heart breaking and magical. This is no doubt a big reason why I so enjoy anime like One Piece; every character, even a talking reindeer with a blue nose like Chopper, is fleshed out as a brilliant, larger than life personality, dogged with tragedy yet still content, nay determined, to move on with life, to achieve his own personal dreams.
No doubt this will go down as my favourite story arc of One Piece (so far). When an endearing character like Doctor Hiruluk dies out to a beautiful rendition of Ave Maria, it’s hard not to get swept up in the moment, overcome with the tragedy Chopper’s loss yet filled with admiration for the deceased final words, a speech filled with the kind of optimistic philosophy that fills your heart with a such reassuring warmth and hope for life.
The idea that someone never dies if you inherit their memories and their will is a message that lies at the heart of One Piece. Gold Roger’s greatest achievement was in his final words, echoed at the beginning of every episode, the words that gave birth to a thousand dreams. Similarly, Doctor Hiruluk’s limitless passion and impossible ambition lives on through Chopper. This was anime at its best, at its most powerful and I love it (to pieces, one might say!).
This episode makes a mockery of everything Naruto stands for and as a hardcore fan, there is a guilty voice saying I should be completely offended by it, but honestly, this episode was so off the wall and slapstick funny that I could not help but love every minute of it.
The premise is brilliant. Naruto and Shino are asked to attend a funeral on behalf of a “client”, the catch is that if the other guests at the funeral can make Naruto or Shino laugh, they will get a cut of the deceased’s fortune; cue some of the most surreal, weirdest attempts at humour seen this side of Cromartie High School. Given how serious this show usually is, it makes a nice refreshing change (especially within the confines of such endless, empty filler) to see the likes of Shino and Naruto just cut loose and laugh their heads off.
Episode 186 will not go down as the finest example of the Naruto anime, but right here, right now, I have to admit this is the most fun I have salvaged from Naruto for what feels like years.
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Black Lagoon – 4 – Neo Nazis
The beauty of Black Lagoon is that it knows exactly what it is; pure action, and then forcing the volume way past maximum. If last time flying submarines weren’t enough for you, how do Neo-Nazi’s sound?
The Black Lagoon is after a precious Nazi painting (commissioned by none other than the Fuhrer himself, Hitler) that has been sleeping with the fishes for a good 50 years, since the collapse of World War 2. It’s an easy 50k for Dutch and his crew until a regiment of hard ass Neo-Nazi’s crash the party and decide they want the painting too.
Of course, it’s unfair for me to label Black Lagoon as all action, because while the gunplay surely plays a pivotal role in this show, the characterization and setting is equally as strong. In just 12 minutes, I found myself carefully invested in a doomed Nazi submarine captain and feeling his subordinates’ claustrophobic horror when told they have but 2 hours left to live.
The kid within me just wants to go giddy at the flashy, powerful style of Black Lagoon, but its true strength lies within a compelling ability to weave personal stories within the context of such sheer explosive madness.