Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto
Sep. 28th, 2010 08:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
foxinthestarsHereinafter, BKI, because yeah, that's a mouthful.
I finally finished it (26 episodes) and thought I'd give my report. I enjoyed it, but of course I have my complaints.
First, as perhaps I learned when I quickly discarded Sky Girls, a series' opening sequence is very important; in that case it was like "Okay, Show, first you have to convince me it's worth listening to that noise a few dozen times." BKI, however, is the opposite end of the spectrum---I love its opening sequence. The song is at once elegant and blood-stirring, deliciously flavored with Japanese instruments, and the visual sequence does I'd say a better-than-average job of making you think "hey, this looks like a really interesting show."
And it is a really interesting show. Per the title it is set in the Bakumatsu (end of the shogunate, late 1860s), and indeed the "other" star of the series is the Bakumatsu itself and particularly the Boshin War. It revels in being a period piece, with our heroes rubbing shoulders with historical figures and helping shape historical events---and I admit, probably Rurouni Kenshin's fault, I do have a weakness for Bakumatsu period pieces; I'm rather fond of Kaze Hikaru also. Of course, as an American, I don't have the grasp of the history involved that the assumed audience would, although I do know certain things (HUGE SPOILER: Hokkaido doesn't come out of this as a separate country). Between that and supernatural elements which the show delivers more by immersion than exposition, the WTF factor is relatively high, but for me it mostly kept it interesting without going overboard. I also think it's a strength of this show that while there are some clear-cut villains, they're not really central figures, and large parts of the story don't shake out into good and evil so easily.
To this fantastical version of history are added the plot-driving intertwined fates of, primarily, the three characters featured in the ending titles:
Youjiro Akidzuki: known as the "Eternal Assassin," he bears an ancient magical sword and a destined mission to seal an ancient evil force known as "The Lord's Head." At first stone-faced and emotionless, he gradually opens up in a subtle but satisfying way.
Yuuyama Kakunojo: a woman who leads a Kabuki troupe, behind which is concealed her mission of vengeance for the killing of her family years before. First within this mission and then beyond it, she finds her fate entwined with that of Akidzuki.
Ibaragi Soutetsu: Kakunojo's playwright, who generally aids our heroes, but who has his own plans for The Lord's Head and for the new Japan being forged at this moment in history. He might be the series' real (though devious) hero, or its real (though noble) villain, or there might not really be any difference---but one thing sure, his Batman Gambit skills allow his play-within-the-play to shred the fourth-wall-within-the-play with striking audacity.
So what are my inevitable complaints? Well, the flirtation with WTF overload cuts both ways, and sometimes I feel like the show is perhaps too interested in being flashy and badass as opposed to more down-to-earth functioning. The biggest thing, though, is that it seemed better at throwing things at you than resolving them. I think it would have been beneficial for something like this to have been "brought in for a landing," so to speak, focusing the climax on the most down-to-earth, relatable, or at least well-established elements. But not so much; it ended weird, and not as satisfyingly as it could have. The romantic aspect of the resolution---the one thing that would fit the "bring it in for a landing" mold---was underplayed and didn't really get off the ground, and some of the characters I felt deserved better than they got, particularly the half-British one-eyed sharpshooter with the mother complex who had gotten so much play, and the character (name withheld to avoid spoilage) who ends up at the center of the climax with a motivation and attendant supernatural weirdness we've suddenly been told about but that isn't explained in a way you can really get your arms around. Earlier in the series they could get away with that, with the audience simply living with the thing for awhile taking up the slack, and it actually worked pretty well, but when you introduce that kind of WTFery in the last episode or two, that just doesn't work, especially for something so crucial and a character I liked and would have really liked to relate to as it was playing out.
But it was a fun ride, full of adventure and intrigue and swordfights and history lessons.
For my next fansubbed anime to watch, I've picked "Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora" ("What is Precious to a Magician: Summer Sky"---why they leave that untranslated I don't know), which by contrast is very understated.
I finally finished it (26 episodes) and thought I'd give my report. I enjoyed it, but of course I have my complaints.
First, as perhaps I learned when I quickly discarded Sky Girls, a series' opening sequence is very important; in that case it was like "Okay, Show, first you have to convince me it's worth listening to that noise a few dozen times." BKI, however, is the opposite end of the spectrum---I love its opening sequence. The song is at once elegant and blood-stirring, deliciously flavored with Japanese instruments, and the visual sequence does I'd say a better-than-average job of making you think "hey, this looks like a really interesting show."
And it is a really interesting show. Per the title it is set in the Bakumatsu (end of the shogunate, late 1860s), and indeed the "other" star of the series is the Bakumatsu itself and particularly the Boshin War. It revels in being a period piece, with our heroes rubbing shoulders with historical figures and helping shape historical events---and I admit, probably Rurouni Kenshin's fault, I do have a weakness for Bakumatsu period pieces; I'm rather fond of Kaze Hikaru also. Of course, as an American, I don't have the grasp of the history involved that the assumed audience would, although I do know certain things (HUGE SPOILER: Hokkaido doesn't come out of this as a separate country). Between that and supernatural elements which the show delivers more by immersion than exposition, the WTF factor is relatively high, but for me it mostly kept it interesting without going overboard. I also think it's a strength of this show that while there are some clear-cut villains, they're not really central figures, and large parts of the story don't shake out into good and evil so easily.
To this fantastical version of history are added the plot-driving intertwined fates of, primarily, the three characters featured in the ending titles:
Youjiro Akidzuki: known as the "Eternal Assassin," he bears an ancient magical sword and a destined mission to seal an ancient evil force known as "The Lord's Head." At first stone-faced and emotionless, he gradually opens up in a subtle but satisfying way.
Yuuyama Kakunojo: a woman who leads a Kabuki troupe, behind which is concealed her mission of vengeance for the killing of her family years before. First within this mission and then beyond it, she finds her fate entwined with that of Akidzuki.
Ibaragi Soutetsu: Kakunojo's playwright, who generally aids our heroes, but who has his own plans for The Lord's Head and for the new Japan being forged at this moment in history. He might be the series' real (though devious) hero, or its real (though noble) villain, or there might not really be any difference---but one thing sure, his Batman Gambit skills allow his play-within-the-play to shred the fourth-wall-within-the-play with striking audacity.
So what are my inevitable complaints? Well, the flirtation with WTF overload cuts both ways, and sometimes I feel like the show is perhaps too interested in being flashy and badass as opposed to more down-to-earth functioning. The biggest thing, though, is that it seemed better at throwing things at you than resolving them. I think it would have been beneficial for something like this to have been "brought in for a landing," so to speak, focusing the climax on the most down-to-earth, relatable, or at least well-established elements. But not so much; it ended weird, and not as satisfyingly as it could have. The romantic aspect of the resolution---the one thing that would fit the "bring it in for a landing" mold---was underplayed and didn't really get off the ground, and some of the characters I felt deserved better than they got, particularly the half-British one-eyed sharpshooter with the mother complex who had gotten so much play, and the character (name withheld to avoid spoilage) who ends up at the center of the climax with a motivation and attendant supernatural weirdness we've suddenly been told about but that isn't explained in a way you can really get your arms around. Earlier in the series they could get away with that, with the audience simply living with the thing for awhile taking up the slack, and it actually worked pretty well, but when you introduce that kind of WTFery in the last episode or two, that just doesn't work, especially for something so crucial and a character I liked and would have really liked to relate to as it was playing out.
But it was a fun ride, full of adventure and intrigue and swordfights and history lessons.
For my next fansubbed anime to watch, I've picked "Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora" ("What is Precious to a Magician: Summer Sky"---why they leave that untranslated I don't know), which by contrast is very understated.
