Quarantine Control #190: Knock, Turn, and Take Off
Thanksgiving occurred in the United States this week, which has largely become a time for people to relax from their busy schedules and catch up with friends and family they only see a handful of times a year. (Whether meeting with the relatives is a relaxing experience depends on your family.) There’s a lot more to the meaning of Thanksgiving, the sordid story of how poorly the US treated Native Americans throughout history. Feel free to take some time off, even if that involves doing a little shopping. But spare a thought for the mistreated ancestors, and other indigenous individuals facing horrible conditions right now.
Geoffrey Barnes
Turn A Gundam (1999)
Source: Blu-ray (and now on YouTube for a limited time as of this writing)
Episodes: 50
I knew right from the start that Turn A Gundam was going to be a very special series, even by the standards in the entire long-running Gundam franchise.
The first episode set the tone for the remainder of the series, during which three individuals descend from the Moon and land on Earth to fulfill their reconnaissance mission for the former’s leader, Queen Diana. The series already establishes plenty of background mystery, especially for anyone who’s watched prior Gundam offerings from series creator Yoshiyuki Tomino and is wondering how the world drifted in this direction. It’s clear right from the start that Earth isn’t quite the same place shown in Tomino’s Universal Century works, nor is the Moon considering the intents of the individuals involved. The very start of the series shows how contemplative it will be, from the view of a young man who never ceases to be optimistic and a little naïve in Loran Cehack.
I somewhat frequently heard Turn A compared to Studio Ghibli films prior to watching it, which is pretty accurate. But I won’t understate how the series is very much a beast of its own. The series spends plenty of time on developing its characters, something it thankfully has much time to do over the 50 episodes allotted to it. The series cast starts off small enough, with Loran running into sisters Sochie and Kihel Heim, the latter of whom bears a striking resemblance to Queen Diana herself. (The resemblance does become plot relevant, though not in a way you might expect.) Not to say there isn’t conflict. Loran and friends Keith Laijee and Fran Doll (hoo boy, Gundam names) may have come with peaceful intentions, though some from the Moon would rather move onto the planet by force.
Don’t take that to mean this is a basic Moon vs. Earth tale. Turn A Gundam was all about challenging expectations, the work chiefly helmed by a man who clearly had enough seniority in Sunrise that he could utilize any idea he wanted. There are those from the Moon that want to take the Earth by force in the Moonrace’s desire to move back to a planet with breathable air and gravity, but others long to resolve their differences through peaceful means. The same applies for Earth, with some ready to fight back with force while others want to negotiate. The series’ Char Clone, Harry Ord, matches the series by being a significant departure from any other in a good way.
The characters in Turn A frequently describe their situation as being in a war, but that’s not the case. There isn’t an actual war happening here. The conflicts lead to skirmishes that often result in destruction and some death, but the goal of the characters involved is to prevent these situations from spiraling out of control into a full-blown gigantic conflict.
This doesn’t sound like the strongest premise from describing it (and it’s not my abilities preventing that from sounding good). But there are more than enough unique situations to keep the viewer engaged so long as they’re not expecting a “wow, cool robot” show, even compared to prior Gundam shows. (The robots themselves are cool, though.) It’s 50 episodes, but it’s all wonderfully paced — one of the few Gundam shows to run for that length and justify it.
Turn A’s top-notch presentation helps. Superlative art direction is hardly uncommon through works Tomino’s directed, as shown through the excellent character and mech designs from the likes of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Kunio Okawara, respectively. The background art is no slouch either, as Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (which I watched over the summer and enjoyed) previously showed. But the combination of that and Akiman’s wonderful character designs make for a stunning show despite it not having the highest budget around for the era. The usage of circa late 19th century clothing styles and technology creates a setting unique for most anime, outside — I’m half-sorry — Ghibli’s content. The mech designs from the late Syd Mead are the final touch in lending the series a unique sense of identity, starting with the main “Curly Moustache” Turn A Gundam.
Topping the presentation off is the soundtrack from Yoko Kanno in her absolute prime, fresh off Cowboy Bebop during this period. She brings all her finest techniques to the show, with a dizzying array of instrumental and vocal tracks. It doesn’t matter when some themes play several times throughout the 50 episodes when they’re so good, the true hallmark of a great soundtrack.
If there’s one element that I wish had improvement in Turn A, it’s the animation. It’s fine enough for the time it released (that’s 1999, but you knew that), but it’s more limited compared to other Sunrise shows of the era, like the aforementioned Cowboy Bebop and Vision of Escaflowne.
It’s clear most of the animation budget was utilized for the mecha fights. There aren’t as many of them compared to other Gundam shows, as this show is slower-paced (but not poorly paced — big difference) in a more contemplative way to focus on its unique universe and the people and technology inhabiting it. Most fights take place on Earth, and both the Gundam and other delightfully and surreally bizarre-looking mechs have a special weight to them to ensure the battles have impact. Tomino and the team weren’t given large resources for this production, but they knew where to use it.
Turn A Gundam is Tomino, a man not known for subtlety, telling the audience that human life and the health of the planets around them should be valued. It’s a worthwhile lesson considering all the disposable faces in his prior Gundam series. Turn A is a fantastic show that will go down as not only my favorite Gundam series, but one of the best anime I’ve ever watched. It is, to be fair, more appreciable when you’ve seen all of Tomino’s prior UC shows, but anyone who stumbles upon it is still in for a good time.
Angela Moseley
Again, it’s a good thing I’ve gotten into the habits of writing these articles a week or so in advance when I’m able. This week has been particularly busy between Thanksgiving, and my Thanksgiving stream. Also, I had a number of unexpected house emergencies come up. At least one of them meant changing my plans for Friday and canceling special stream. Fortunately, Drew had a quick article planned so everyone could take a break on Friday. I was able to catch up on some much needed sleep which always feels great.
Castlevania: Nocturne (2023)
Source: Netflix
Episodes: 8
The 2020 Castlevania series was excellent. In fact, it was far better than I was expecting from an animated adaptation of a video game franchise. I tend to keep my expectations for these types of adaptations low as there have often been more misses than hits. The hits tend to be quite good. Castlevania was definitely a hit. The animated series pulled from Castlevania, Castlevania III, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness for its source material. So when Castlevania: Nocturne was announced, I was onboard.
Now, I’m going to come clean. I’ve never completed a single Castlevania game. The closest I ever got was Symphony of the Night, but I checked out of the game at the Inverted Castle. I own a copy of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles I purchased on PSP in the late aughts, and I did try some of the game. In other words, Symphony of the Night and the tiny bit of The Dracula X Chronicles I played are all I know of Richter Belmont’s story. Heck, all I remember is his headband and him being the guy you could have killed as Alucard for SotN’s bad ending. Not that I needed any of this backstory for Castlevania: Nocturne given how much the original Castlevania animated adaption played with the source material.
During the American Revolution Richter Belmont (Edward Bluemel) and his mother Julia Belmont (Sophie Skelton) are preparing to journey from Boston to France. Near the docks in a back alley, Julia is attacked by a powerful vampire named Olrox (Zahn McClarnon). He kills Julia in front of Richter, but allows the boy to live and seek revenge on him someday. With her final breaths, Julia tells her son to get on the ship and flee America. Years later in 1792, the French Revolution is underway. Richter now lives with Maria Renard (Pixie Davies) and her mother Tera (Nastassja Kinski). Maria is the leader of a group of revolutionaries in France.
One night, the group is attacked by vampires and both Richter (now a full-fledged vampire hunter) and Marie fight them off, but not before some of their group is killed. Despite opposing everything the church stands for, Marie figures getting some help from The Abbot (Richard Dormer) and his holy warriors could help with the vampire problem. Unknown to the revolutionaries, the Abbot is actually in league with vampires and not only that, but a vampire messiah is on the way to France. Fortunately, the revolutionaries receive help with the arrival of two freedom fighters from Saint-Domingue.
Castlevania: Nocturne starts its season with a hell of bang. Not only is it a show filled with vampires, but it takes place during the heart of the French Revolution. The parallel between the vampires leeching off regular humans like the rich taking advantage of the poor is so obvious you’d have to try your damnedest not to see it. Show creator Clive Bradley makes this crystal clear by having the vampires be in league WITH the rich nobility. The blood suckers mainly target poor or revolutionary members of society. Not just content to tackle issues of class, this show also tackles issues of race. The two freedom fighters, Annette (Thuso Mbedu) and Edouard (Sydney James Harcourt) are black. While Edouard was a free man who helped run away slaves with the position of power his talents granted him, Annette was an enslaved girl who ran. She had the horror of watching her own mother be killed by their vampire master. Even Olrox, originally an Aztec native when he was human has his own issues with race, class, and colonialism.
At a time when inequality has been on the rise for years now, and overt racism has come roaring back, mask full off, Castlevania: Nocturne hits in all the right ways. It has a cast fighting against nobility and a corrupt church during the French Revolution. A large chunk of its cast are people of color, and they’re not afraid to air their grievances about a very corrupt system.
Sure, the series could go with the simple analogy that vampires only represent the greedy nobility and are there to always antagonize the humans. However, Olrox is a fascinating enigma. You’re meant to loathe him for the murder of Julia Belmont, but he also has his own notions of right and wrong which don’t always align with the other vampires. This is doubly true for some members of the church regarding the Abbot. Like the original Castlevania series, I’m largely enjoying how many of the characters in the main cast don’t have a simple black and white morality. Some will push hard to achieve their goals no matter the cost, while others will sprout a consciousness when it counts. Others have complex relationships and conflicting allegiances. It never ceases to amaze me how this adaptation weaves a complex narrative from video games with relatively simple stories.
Castlevania: Nocturne does have a few areas of weakness. Thankfully, they’re relatively minor. First, the animation isn’t quite as good this time around. It still looks amazing, but the animators went for a softer, sketchier style. The style is closer to the action sequences used in the prequel series. While I would have personally preferred that the animation studios stuck with a style closer to the original, I’m still pleased with the overall look of the show. The other area of weakness is that at times I forgot I was watching a series based on the Castlevania games. The story is excellent overall, but I could understand where a hardcore fan of the games would pine for a show that stuck more closely to the source material. Though I believe fleshing out the characters for this adaption is worth it when all the action comes together. Finally, the show ends on one hell of a cliffhanger.
If you’re a fan of the Castlevania franchise, Castlevania: Nocturne should be high on your radar. The first season takes a little longer to get going when compared to the original, but once the action gets going, it really gets going. If you’re not a fan of the Castlevania games, I’d say Nocturne is still worth your time as you don’t need knowledge of the games to enjoy a good story. Be sure to start with the prequel series first.
Also, who here is shocked that Geoff who’s reviewed many of the Castlevania games for this very blog has yet to watch either animated series? I know I am!
Joseph Daniels
Here at Damage Control, we’ve been fans of the Scott Pilgrim franchise for a long time. We saw the film in theatres, some of us more than once. We bought the video game. In fact, we bought both the original version on Xbox 360 as well as the recent physical re-release. We have the graphic novels. The Netflix series seems like a no brainer for us.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023)
Source: Netflix
Episodes: 8
Rabbits?: One, very briefly, episode two, you probably missed it
I think the first thing I appreciated about this adaptation is that the opening theme song seems to take inspiration from Nyan Cat, an internet phenomenon that debuted a year after the Scott Pilgrim movie adaptation. The story has always been a celebration of nerd culture, and this feels like the series is promising that it’s going to if not update the references to the present day, it’s at least going to pay homage to even more than the movie or the graphic novels did.
And sure enough, you can see that almost right away. The original topic of conversation between Scott and Ramona at the party in episode one had been about Pac-Man, but in this version, he tries to impress her with an anecdote about the two Sonic the Hedgehog shows that aired in 1993. It should be noted that Scott Pilgrim Takes Off manages to get back everyone from the movie to reprise their roles, including actors who have since made it big and likely command a much higher paycheque. For example, Chris Evans became Captain America just one year after playing Lucas Lee in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Brie Larson played Envy Adams and is now most famous for her role as Captain Marvel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Alison Pill played Kim Pine and is now probably most famous for her starring role in Star Trek: Picard, and so on. It should also be noted that Netflix is also currently where Sonic Prime airs, so it’s possible that the references have been Netflix-ified. Case in point: Ramona Flowers now delivers the DVDs that Netflix rents out. It feels a bit more noble these days than delivering for Amazon, and is probably cheaper than buying something from Amazon, so Scott can easily afford to do this.
I originally wasn’t on board with showing the League of Evil Exes plotting right from the start, since it felt a little like the series was tipping its hand too early. However, I think the show might be meant for fans of the graphic novel and movie and not really for new fans. Returning fans know about the League already and don’t have to be enticed by the mystery of who they are, and considering things diverge dramatically after episode one, it kind of works better this way. I won’t spoil the major changes, but I will say that it’s strange to me how I’m on board with Scott Pilgrim Takes Off dramatically changing the plot, whereas I dislike how the plot to the Final Fantasy VII remake project has changed compared to the original. I may have to think long and hard on this and come to terms with some of my biases and preferences, and maybe re-examine the two versions of Final Fantasy VII.
I guess it’s convenient that I’m working on those Retrospectives, isn’t it? Come to think of it, it’s kind of appropriate that I’m comparing Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and the Final Fantasy VII remake.
I love the variety to the brand new fights we’re shown and I love the varied set pieces, but I do wish that the action was animated a bit better at times, especially when it comes to skateboarder Lucas Lee. I guess I’m going to have to watch SK8 the Infinity instead. I hear when it comes to skateboarding, it’s very good.
So the big question on my mind was: the series starts out great and has a very interesting and original premise in relation to the source material, but is it going to stick the landing? It turns out that yes, it does. Without giving too much away, the big bad is pretty much the last person you’d expect it to be, and yet the only one you’d expect it to be, too.
Something that I admire about this series is that it humanizes many of Ramona’s Exes and gives her a chance to reconcile with some of them as she investigates- whoops, I almost gave away the story. I will say that watching this show feels kind of like watching a love letter to the original source material and to the fans who watched the movie. Not only that, but the fact that this is an original story might signify that there are more stories to tell in this universe. I went into this thinking that Scott Pilgrim is the perfect property to shop to Netflix since there would be exactly one season worth of material, and they can operate on the assumption that they’re going to be cancelled pretty much as soon as the series drops, as that’s the Netflix way these days. I was not expecting to see Scott Pilgrim completely reimagined. It almost feels like watching 2009’s Star Trek, in a way, and now I’m both hoping for and dreading a second season. The original story was lightning in a bottle and so was the movie. It’s amazing that lightning struck again in 2023 and I’m a little worried that this might be all they have.
Come to think of it, I think the reason I’m on board with this new Scott Pilgrim continuity but didn’t like it when stuff like Dragon Quest: Your Story changed things is because I didn’t go into this with any expectations and didn’t watch any trailers. I watched the trailers after finishing the series, and found that most of them made it seem like it was going to be a lot closer to the original source material, but then one trailer absolutely spoils the surprise, so I’m very glad I watched none of them prior ro enjoying the series.
If there’s one thing I’ve noticed about myself, it’s that I’m coy about details if it’s something I enjoyed and I’m quick to share if it’s something I didn’t. This is something I enjoyed immensely and while it’s a bit of a shame that we didn’t get a more faithful adaptation of the original source material but with different jokes and references like it seemed we were getting in episode one, I’m glad they went with the story they did. It makes Scott Pilgrim Takes Off less of an adaptation and more of a sequel series, in a way. I fear even saying that much might spoil some of the surprises.
This Week’s Short Films (two, since I skipped this last week)
Curse Reverse (2023)
The Green Between (2020)
This Thanksgiving occasion offered a nice opportunity to step away from all the dreary news, in the world and perhaps in your personal life. (The “stepping away” part also applied to Quarantine Control, as you can see.) But fear not. It’s back to the normal grind starting next week. Until then.
About The Author
dcstaff
The collective will of the Damage Control staff combined into a single article.
