Naughty and Nice ’14 #3: The year in anime

1. Terraformars… Good God, the Censorship!
Terraformars was probably one of the most hyped shows for the 2014 Fall season of anime. The manga is popular in Japan, and the series easily gives off Attack on Titan vibes, even if the subject matter is worlds apart. Unfortunately, Terraformars is an exercise in patience. This story begins 500 years in the future when humans go to Mars to reclaim it from giant humanoid roaches who’ve terraformed the planet. And these roaches are both intelligent and hostile. What could have been an interesting series is marred by a dull story, and ridiculous levels of censorship for the Japanese TV broadcast. Seriously, entire scenes are almost completely obscured by huge black censorship bars. And decapitated humans? Their headless bodies (which we KNOW are headless) are hidden by large black circles. After lots of complaining Crunchyroll has been able to secure an uncensored version of Terraformars. I personally checked out after episode 5. I found the censorship to be hilarious, but I couldn’t stand how boring the overall story was.

2. Sailor Moon Crystal
The second coming of Sailor Moon wasn’t without flaws. Sailor Moon Crystal was supposed to be a tribute to the 25th anniversary of the series and a more faithful adaptation of the original manga. Crystal was hit by delay after delay, and ultimately settled on an every-other-week update for the series. To make matters worse, the character designs from the manga don’t translate well to animation, some scenes are done in CGI where traditional animation would’ve made more sense, and the overall budget is low. Oh, Toei Animation. The only saving grace is the bright, soft colors the show uses. The series also deviates quite a bit from the original story, which I can’t decide is good or bad. I don’t hate Sailor Moon Crystal, but its various flaws are a big drag on the story. At times I’m simply tempted to go rewatch the original Sailor Moon on Hulu, instead.

3. Sailor Moon and the VIZ remasters problem
If a fan doesn’t like Sailor Moon Crystal there’s always the original series. To make matters sweeter, VIZ Media has redubbed the series with a translation scrubbed free of the original Americanization. Unfortunately, VIZ’s release of the first part of the series is mired in controversy. There are issues with on screen artifacts, ghosting, color bleeding, and smearing in some episodes. Fans blame VIZ for introducing the errors in their upscaling process, while VIZ says the problem originates from the original masters they were given by Toei Animation. Certainly, some fans won’t care too much because they can finally own the original Sailor Moon anime at a decent price. Others are rightfully dissatisfied with the product. It’s a shame these problems have to taint what should have been a great release for fans and VIZ alike.

4. FUNimation’s Elite Subscriptions-
I can’t blame FUNimation for wanting to get into the streaming anime game, after all they have a large library of shows. VIZ did it first with Neon Alley, we have Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix, Daisuki, The Anime Network and Anime Sols. Additionally, whenever FUNimation licenses an anime you have to go to their site or Hulu in order to watch that series. Fair enough. Lately it has been hard to enjoy anime as a free user with the introduction of FUnimation Elite. Paid users get access to weekly simulcasts right after they air in Japan, as well as access to a huge backlog of shows subbed and dubbed. Also fair. Unfortunately, the video service is almost unusable as a free user. Videos frequently fail to load, or outright crash. I don’t mind the week delay, but as one who used to use the site two years ago and found it perfectly serviceable, I’m disappointed with the changes. Even Hulu isn’t a great alternative for FUNimation simulcasts, as episodes are locked down after a certain number unless you have a Plus subscription. At this point the only way to watch the simulcasts legally is to wait for the more popular shows to make their way to Netflix (it takes about a year), or pray it also debuts on Crunchyroll. If I want to see a show as it airs I have to go back to illegal methods. Why do you have to make it so hard, FUNimation? (I’m not going to get a subscription because I’m already paying to access Netflix and Crunchyroll.)

1. More license rescues seeing release
Many of the shows that were license rescued from Bandai Entertainment and Genon are finally starting to be released. FUNimation has acquired a large number of these licenses, with the rest being doled out between Sentai Filmworks, and Aniplex. The final volume of Hellsing Ultimate was just released and Cowboy Bebop is making its way to blu-ray this month. In fact, Cowboy Bebop is the most notable release as it has two limited editions. One set is a FUNimation exclusive, and the other can only be found on Amazon. However, both sets are completely sold out, and if you missed your chance, you’ll have to settle for a standard edition of the blu-ray.

2. Sailor Moon’s majestic return
For years, Sailor Moon had been that one series that eluded a license rescue. If someone could get the rights to Sailor Moon and re-release the series, fans would flock to them. VIZ media was up to the challenge. They acquired all of the original Sailor Moon anime, and even the rights to Sailor Moon Crystal. I’m not a big fan of the series, but it was a show I enjoyed as a teenager and I do have fond memories of it. It is great to see older and younger anime fans (both female and male) excited for the return of Sailor Moon. The lead up to the re-release of Sailor Moon and even Crystal was honestly a glimmer of positivity in a fandom that can be so negative at times.

3. A nice variety of anime
2014 has been another strong year for anime. January kicked things off with Space Dandy in the winter, kept it going with Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure in the spring, Free! Eternal Summer in the summer, and strong fall lineup. I could name lots of series, but the standouts for me are Parasyte, Fate Stay/Night Unlimited Blade Works, and Log Horizon 2. I thought 2013 was an excellent year for anime, but 2014 has also been exceptional, even in the off seasons of winter and summer. Shows that lost some of their luster, like Captain Earth and Aldnoah.Zero were entertaining to watch, and it’s great to see a variety of genres on display. It truly feels like there are more anime shows being made for a greater variety of people, instead of just heavily pandering to one segment of the viewing demographic.

4. Space Dandy
Space Dandy is special anime. It aired on Toonami in English before it was broadcast on Japanese TV. The show wasn’t popular in its country of origin, but it was a hit in North America. Space Dandy was so popular it was given a second season in order to neatly conclude the series. The comedic adventures of the alien hunters Space Dandy, Meow and QT were enjoyable, and it made the extra effort to catch it on TV on Saturday nights worth it. This anime was unusual because of its episodic nature, versus serial route that most shows take. In other words, you could tune in to almost any episode and understand what was going on. The episodes were so random that you really didn’t need to understand what was going on. Sure, this sci-fi is set in the same universe as Cowboy Bebop (MANY years into the future), but it had more in common with Futurama. In short, Space Dandy was perfect for American television. I’m glad Bones took such a risk, and I hope other studios consider doing the same in the future for Toonami.

1. Hellsing Ultimate
This is what FUNimation thinks a boxed set should look like:

And if you think I’m done trashing FUNimation…

2. Eva 3.33: You can [not] deliver
Like many excited Evangelion fans, I couldn’t wait to see 3.33 since the second I finished watching 2.22. I preordered the blu-ray from Rightstuf when it was marked down to $20 and waited for the release date, which Google STILL helpfully lists as Jan. 10. 2014. You know, 11 months ago.

First, there was a delay to do a theatrical tour of the subtitled movie that lasted a month. Then still no release. Around the beginning of July, rumors started spreading that the dub didn’t pass standards with the animation studio. An updated dub was screened at New York Comic Con in October, but apparently it STILL isn’t done, or it’d be on shelves already.

1. Gundam relicensed
Man, I feel like I’m repeating myself again. No matter.

I’m very excited for the omnibus Gundam relicensing. While it does this mean the holy hell I went through to collect DVDs of Gundam Wing and Stardust Memory was completely pointless (and expensive), at least I hadn’t done it for any other series.

I think one of the first things I’m going to do when these new printings hit is watch Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta and ZZ back-to-back-to-back.

2. Hayao Miyazaki not really retired
By some counts this was the anime legend’s sixth time threatening retirement, so this was not unexpected given his reputation for keeping busy. Still, news of another stay of execution is great after news this November (right around the time he got a new lifetime achievement award to polish) that he’s working on an anime short and a samurai manga.

1. The appalling price and release structure of Kill la Kill
I still remember my first anime DVD purchases. $20 for each disc of Wolf’s Rain in 2004, seven in all, for a 26-episode series. Then came the box sets in which one was able to acquire an entire season of anime for between $20-$120 depending on series. The box sets were released 13-26 episodes at a time, and anime became affordable. Then came the expensive, premium, oversized box sets which looked beautiful and included plenty of extra content for around $60 for 13 episodes. Kill la Kill’s release goes back to the old days when anime was released several episodes at a time, and for a premium price. $30 for each DVD, $40 for each Blu-Ray and $60 for each limited edition box set with 4-5 episodes each. Despite all the extra kit and Kill la Kill being an excellent series, going back to the expensive old days is making me sigh more than once when I swipe my credit card at Rightstuf.

2. General Motors and their “no weapons/no masks” policy at Youmacon
Now, I didn’t attend Youmacon this year, and a part of me still says I was fortunate. Less than a month before the convention, General Motors, who owns the Renaissance Center where the convention has been held for several years now, made the abrupt announcement that convention attendees were not allowed to walk through their parts of the building wearing full facemasks or carry weapons that looked genuine. What was most appalling was the uproar it caused; blame went to General Motors and Youmacon for imposing a rule to solve a problem which didn’t exist and for the unfeasibility in enforcing this rule. Where’s the “genuine/fake” boundary lie? Where’s the enforcement zone? There were multiple people trying to downplay the situation, saying it wasn’t as bad as it seemed; that one only needed to holster their weapons and the coverage wasn’t entirely comprehensive (You still have the Cobo Center). After the convention was over, I sought clarification from a friend who was cosplaying as Soul Eater’s Death the Kid, who mentioned that it only applied in the areas where General Motors had their corporate offices and vehicle displays, both of which were areas where convention traffic was low, and he mentioned he had no run-ins with the staff. But that raises the question: Couldn’t this have been communicated more gracefully?

3. New Initial D the Movie
Initial D’s television reign just concluded with Final Stage this year (which I haven’t watched yet), having graced television screens since 1998 and holding onto mostly the same cast for the last 16 years. I am truly puzzled as to what need there is to reboot the franchise and perform a “retelling” of the beginning of the series, which is what this new, three-part film will do. Based on the trailers, the aesthetics look to be a substantial upgrade, but the character cast is watered down; the entire original voice acting roster has been replaced, and the music genre has shifted away from the catchy Eurobeat tunes of yesteryear. I usually don’t evaluate seiyuu performances, but being familiar with the new voice actor for the main character Fujiwara Takumi (an apathetic and bored high school teenager), the casting doesn’t seem to fit quite right. It’s Mamoru Miyano voicing the new Takumi, and he voices a wide spectrum of colorful and outgoing characters: Death the Kid, Suoh Tamaki, Light Yagami, Tsunashi Takuto, Kida Masomi and Rin Matsuoka. Even his bored voice just doesn’t capture the character’s apathy as well as the original voice actor Shinichiro Miki. I can somewhat forgive the aesthetics of the original (it’s the one major weakness) since it’s an older series, but to produce this movie with upgraded aesthetics and everything else downgraded for new viewers is utterly unnecessary.

1. The excellent Aldnoah Zero
With brilliant plot twists, lovely music and excellent animation, this series handled its limits well and captured and successfully held onto my interest throughout its short run. Despite flaws due to inherent time limitations, the series is worth a watch and I am eagerly awaiting the second season’s premieres in January.

2. The sheer number of anime movies making their way over to North America this year
A few years ago, one of my complaints was that many anime series were getting film adaptations which were short retellings of the series it was based on, and just banked on the hoopla from said series for sales. Now, not only are movies being made as a continuation of the series upon which it’s based, but these films are being released in U.S. theatres to an extent. Sure, some moderate travel (sometimes out-of-state) is required depending on your hometown, but catching these films is a lot more viable now. Honorable mentions for 2014 go to Tiger and Bunny: the Rising, K: Missing Kings, Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, Anohana and The Wind Rises.

3. Sunrise partnering with Right Stuf to release more Gundam series
Now, being able to watch Gundam in the United States can range from very easy to having to acquire fansubs to downright impossible, depending on what format and what timeline you would like to sample. After Bandai ceased the distribution of Gundam DVDs, the retail value of almost all series went up substantially (I paid $120 for the entirety of 08th MS Team at Anime Central this year and was told it was a good deal when it WAS $20 on Amazon several years prior), and several Gundam series still remained elusive to the average U.S. consumer. Turn A Gundam’s U.S. release, for instance, was cancelled. But now, as announced at New York Comic Con, Gundam fans now have another opportunity to acquire and complete their video collection of this franchise, and others will now find it much easier to sample more from this giant robot franchise.