“Five years of Aikatsu!“soundsstrange. Sometimes, the series seems like it’s been around forever. Other times, I remember it as one of the many young upstarts nipping at Precure‘s “anime for young girls” throne. However my feelings sway, the reality is that the show is long enough now to have a mega crossover event.
In episodes 69 and 70 of Aikatsu Stars!, the characters if the latest series encounter their predecessors from seasons past. While there are plenty of interactions across the cast, the main focal point is how heroine Nijino Yume meets her protagonist senpai, Oozora Akari and Hoshimiya Ichigo.
One thing is crystal clear after these episodes: out if all three main characters, Ichigo is by far the most memorable and the most meme-able.
That’s not to say that Akari and Yume are bad characters or uninteresting. However, everything about Ichigo leaves an impression. Like in so many other franchises or enduring works, being the original confers a kind of aura of greatness. Whether it’s Amuro Ray from Gundam, Superman, or Cure Black and Cure White from Precure, there’s a sense of reverence for being the first.
But it’s not just being the inaugural protagonist that elevates Ichigo; it’s that she comes across as amusingly superhuman compared to the other two. Like Cure Black and Cure White in their own crossover specials, Ichigo is portrayed as the strongest. She scales cliffs with ease. Her skill with an axe is so notable that the crossover puts special emphasis on it. I’m fact, nowhere is the animation as lovingly handled as the tree-chopping scene, as the anime plays with dynamic angles, fluid animation, and perspective. Yume and Akari recede into the background in the face of Ichigo’s might.
If you look at the S.H. Figuarts figure for Ichigo, she actually comes with an axe. It’s an identifying element for fans. What would Akari and Yume come with? It’s less obvious. One might argue that they’re more subtle as characters, and that this is a strength, but even Cure Black and Cure White don’t overshadow their Precure successors this much.
It might sound like I’m being critical of the franchise for not developing its later heroines more, or of the crossover episodes for not doing a good enough job, but I’m not. I found the crossover episodes to be a fun celebration of all things Aikatsu! I especially enjoyed seeing the previous S4 (Yume’s senpai group before she got to the top of her school) and Soleil (Ichigo’s group) perform. It was also great to see my favorite, Ichinose Kaede. My thoughts on Ichigo are more of an observation.
On a final note, I thought the character designs for Aikatsu! and Aikatsu Stars! would clash more, but they really don’t. I think they made the original Aikatsu! girls’ faces a bit rounder to make the different casts more visually cohesive. This is generally the sign that a crossover knows what it’s doing.
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At Otakon 2017, I sat down with a husband-wife duo who are also two veteran voice actors of the anime industry. Furukawa Toshio is probably best known for playing Piccolo in Dragon Ball Z, while Kakinuma Shino was Naru in Sailor Moon (Molly to dub fans!).
I did not have enough time to ask any Piccolo questions, but if you love giant robots it’ll be worth your while.
Mr. Furukawa, Ms. Kakinuma, thank you for this interview.
My first question is to Mr. Furukawa. You played the role of Kenta in Mirai Robo Daltanias, so you had experiencing working with Nagahama Tadao. What was it like working with him?
Furukawa: I actually worked with Mr. Nagahama before Daltanias, on TheRose of Versailles. But the time of Daltanias was during the super robot era, with the iconic huge robots in Japanese culture. He brought me in saying, “You know, we have a role for a prince for you. He’s a really good-looking character. Why don’t you come in?” So that’s how I came on the boat.
He was a very gentle person, and as a director he never stopped smiling. He was a very kind figure.
I’d also like to ask you about a different, maybe very different, director: Tomino Yoshiyuki. What was it like working with him as Kai Shiden in Mobile Suit Gundam?
Furukawa: Mr. Tomino is on the opposite spectrum, I’d like to say. He is relatively the stricter type. He’d give long lectures when we were young and starting off with First Gundam. He was known as the scary kind of director.
My next question is directed to Ms. Kakinuma. When it comes to anime based on manga, oftentimes anime-original stories are considered to be not as important or significant. But the romance between Naru and Nephrite is considered a fan favorite. What was it like voicing Naru for that story?
Kakinuma: When we were voicing for Sailor Moon, unlike some of the works now where there’s a manga established, we were doing it at the same time that the manga was going on. Some of the people who worked on the anime didn’t even know that romance doesn’t happen in the manga. So when we voiced it, we were doing it as if it were canon.
You’ve both been in the voice acting industry in Japan for a long time. How do you feel it’s changed over the course of your careers?
Furukawa: When I began, “voice actors” not really a thing. We were a subgenre of the bigger category of actors, where there were actors, stage actors, etc., and voice actors were part of the mix. During that time, we were not well recognized. If you look now, though, you have voice actors appearing on TV. I’ve even appeared on TV myself. I’d like to say that we’ve gained a kind of citizenship. We’re now more recognized.
Kakinuma: Recording has changed from when I began until now. For example, when I first started, we were voicing things that were on film, projected. When a part was over, we would have to reel in the film to record again if we needed to. Now, you don’t have that “reeling in the film” time; you can just click and go back to your previous scene. It saves a lot of time.
It’s normal now to see a kind of timeline on the bottom of the screen showing where you are in that span. By going to that, you don’t need a sense of timing anymore. But back then, since there were no timelines whatsoever, we needed a kind of specialized skillset.
Furukawa: TV equipment also changed. For example, nowadays we have multidirectional digital surround sound, which gives you the ability to hear all around you from all sorts of different channels. But back then, we didn’t have any of that, so we expected everyone to hear from the two speakers. Everyone speaking at the same time would be the same as mixing everything together. Now, if you did that, you might not get the same experience, so you need to split the channels in recording. So technology has advanced, but this has gotten us to take additional time in the recording process.
My last question is about Muteki Robo Daiohja, another giant robot series. What was it like working on it compared to Daltanias?
The biggest difference is that, while they’re both in the era of prolific super robots and space and everything, Daiohja is kind of a parody. Although they’re both similar—I got to play a prince in both anime—the biggest difference is that Prince Mito’s name derives from Mito Koumon, the very famous Japanese period drama about a prince taking out all the evils in his era. Daiohja had a lot of these elements. The characters Skad and Karcus came from Suke-san and Kaku-san from Mito Koumon. Everything about it was pretty much a parody of Mito Komon, so that’s the biggest difference I felt.
Thank you again for the interview. I look forward to your continued successes in your careers.
My very first post as a writer on Apartment 507 was speculation that JAM Project would soar in popularity thanks to One Punch Man. Now, I’ve written a follow-up due to the group’s recent performance at Otakon 2017. Check it out!
This review is part of Ogiue Maniax’s coverage for Otakon 2017
Of the many Japanese creators who tackle the subject of Japan in World War II, manga artist Kouno Fumiyo has stood out perhaps more than any other over the past decade. Avoiding overt criticism of the war, she tells stories from intimate civilian perspectives instead of focusing directly on the horrors of war or the battles themselves. Her first notable work, Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, is about how Hiroshima coped with the aftermath of the atomic bomb from the ground-level. Her second major title, In This Corner of the World, has now been made into a feature film, and the transition from page to screen captures the pain, nostalgia, and conflicted emotions of the wartime period in subtle yet profound ways.
Directed by Katabuchi Sunao (Mai Mai Miracle), ITCotW follows a young girl named Suzu, an airhead with a talent for art who grows up in 1930s-1940s Hiroshima City. As she reaches adulthood and moves to nearby Kure, her everyday life slowly changes, chipped away by the surrounding reality and the ever-encroaching war. She and her family make the best of their situation, able to smile and laugh even in the most dire situations, but the war takes its toll and truly tests Suzu’s ability to go on living.
Avoiding clear-cut criticism of Japan’s actions during WWII carries an enormous risk. Suzu, who lacks of education and tends to just go along with whatever happens to her, can be seen as a lack of critical examination of the war, as well as an overly idyllic portrayal of Japan at the time. However, the film uses both the surrounding environment and Suzu’s portrayal to show how, underneath the facade of imperial prosperity, lies the gradual degradation of what it means for the world to be “normal.” A trip to a school includes young girls singing propaganda, unaware of how it is indoctrinating them. When Suzu witnesses an aerial battle, she is shown imagining it as splashes of paint, the aesthetic beauty of it peering out before the harsh image of destruction returns her to reality.
ITCotW risks being interpreted as celebrating Japan’s glorious past, or at the very least portraying Japan and its citizens as mere victims of war instead of being a major player. The film does not address the atrocities Japan committed, nor does it ever show anything but the fight on Japanese soil. Yet I do not find the decision to avoid confronting such topics head-on to be a crime by omission. I think that, within Suzu and the other characters’ lack of extensive examination is an exploration of how even those who tried to live ignoring or being unaware of Japan’s position are ultimately thrust into it, whether they liked it or not. Not everyone has the strength to risk themselves challenging the establishment, but even those who try to go with the flow can find themselves challenging the tides in small ways.
Another aspect of the film is that it does not utilize the typical images of World War II. When the atomic bomb hits Hiroshima, it does not show the infamous mushroom cloud we all know. Moments later, they look towards Hiroshima, and at the cloud that has begun to lose its shape. The fact that most of the movie takes place outside of Hiroshima is also a clear intent to examine life in wartime outside of the expected locales.
As the film progresses, it moves from beautiful to hauntingly so, a reflection of how the characters, their world, and their sense of normality wear away. A major tragedy in the middle of the film brings about in Suzu a struggle to hold onto the things that have allowed her to take everything in relative stride. How she emerges from that challenge becomes itself indicative of a nuanced message about the perils of patriotism.
At AnimeNext 2017 back in June, I got to speak to the staff of the anime Re:Life. It was a short but informative interview that also went into other shows they’ve worked on, including an anime from the same studio as Kemono Friends.
Re:Life is about a man who gets the chance to relive his high school days. When creating and animating the show, is there anything you had to consider in terms of body language, such as how an older man would act or move that a younger man would not?
Yamanaka Junko: So in terms of body language, by the time you’re 17 you’re pretty much grown as a male. So in terms of the body itself, nothing really changes between 17 and 27. If anything, it’s more the voice actors and actresses who have to portray the 10 years of change, of mental instability.
My next question is for Ueda-san. You worked on a very humorous anime called Tesagure! Bukatsumono. What was it like? It seems like a very unique and interesting experience.
Ueda Reina: Pertaining to this particular series, what we would do is record three minutes of airtime for one hour. There was no dialogue written out. The beginning and ending were set but everything in the middle was all ad-lib. So for the next fifteen minutes, we would do three-minute segments of ad-libbing the entire time, and then we would take multiple episodes in one day. During the set, the actual recording process, there was so much laughing because everyone was laughing at each other’s ad-libbing. It was really fun to work on.
Yamanaka-san, you’ve worked on Detective Conan for many years, on multiple movies and the TV series. When working on the series, are there any golden rules that you must adhere to, like things you must do to make it feel like Conan?
Yamanaka: Someone has to die (ha ha).
The dart hitting Kogoro is an iconic moment.
Because it’s a story about detectives, the actual solving part is where we spend the most energy.
Because Re:Life is about NEETS and redoing your past, do you think this is a more universal or timeless theme, or is it specifically relevant to modern times?
Yamanaka: This is a very difficult question because it’s hard to assume things, but the perspective of the NEET has been around for a while, and the creation of the word is further back. Maybe it’ll still be timeless, but it’d be better for Japan if this is not timeless, and no one remembers what a NEET is anymore.
This review is part of Ogiue Maniax’s coverage for Otakon 2017.
To this day, Eureka Seven is one of my favorite anime ever. From the pacing to the characters to the messages conveyed, it is a joy to watch and to think about. Over the years, Eureka Seven has returned in many different forms, from an unusual experiment in “re-casting” its characters, to a flawed sequel. At Otakon 2017, I got the chance to see the world premiere of Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution 1, the first of a new trilogy of movies, I had to wonder just what form it would take. The result is something I certainly did not expect.
The general story of Eureka Seven is the science fictional romance of Renton Thurston, a teenage boy from a nowhere town, and the titular Eureka, a teenage girl who is actually of a mysterious other species known as “Coralians,” and one of the few to take human form. A world filled with giant robots, music, and youth culture, the original anime exuded a sense of style and sincerity that few works manage to capture.
Hi-Evoluton 1 actually starts off as a prequel to the events of the TV series, portraying the “Summer of Love,” the mysterious event where Adroc Thurston—Renton’s father—saved the world and became a hero. The second is a Throughout the original television series, it’s hinted that the events of the Summer of Love didn’t quite go as officially reported, so it gives insight as to just what caused the conflict. For this first half hour of the film, all of the animation is new, and we get to see a number of characters who would come to play pivotal roles in the main series, including Eureka herself.
The second part of the film is where things get unusual.
It’s common for movie series based on popular franchises to front load its films with existing footage and familiar scenes, such that the first film is a time saver, a money saver, and a way to catch unfamiliar viewers up with what a work is all about. Mobile Suit Gundam did this, Space Battleship Yamato did this, and most recently it’s been the hallmark of the Rebuild of Evangelion movies. Most of the time, these Part 1’s tend to be straightforward, acting as quick compilations/retreads that change little from the original material but set up the possibility for future deviations.
Not so with Hi-Evolution 1. While it certainly would have been possible to just cut and splice the TV series into a large recap movie, the film instead decides to focus on a particular crucial arc of Eureka Seven. When Renton leaves the Gekko (the ship of anti-government rebels of which Eureka is a part), he ends up living with a couple named Ray and Charles Beams, and in doing so matures tremendously within a short span. In the original TV series, this doesn’t happen until about 13 episodes in, so the fact that the movie cuts out such a large chunk of the early episodes is unorthodox in itself.
Combined with this, however, is the fact that the film then decides to play with time. Instead of presenting its events chronologically, Hi-Evoluton 1 sees fits to go back and forth in time constantly, marked by black and white transitions of “Play Back” and “Play Forward.” It can be jarring, and much of the audience’s audible reactions showed a desire for the film to just dispense with the jumping around. For me, I kept wondering why the director, Kyoda Tomoki, decided to do things this way when a standard compilation approach would have theoretically been much easier.
I have three thoughts. First, focusing on Renton’s time with Ray and Charles over the beginnings of his relationship with Eureka juxtaposes him with Adroc’s portrayal from the beginning of the film. Second, the order in which the scenes play out is not chronological but rather an “emotional order.” Third, the creators of Eureka Seven seem to see their works not as ways to return to the world of their creation, but as a way to “remix” them.
Renton is shown to be quite similar to his father in the sense that both have strong convictions do what they feel is right even if it means everyone’s against them. The crucial difference, which gradually narrows over the course of the film, is maturity. Adroc risks himself to save Eureka, but it comes from a kind of wisened, fatherly position, as well as that of someone who understands the consequences of going against the world. Renton, impetuous youth that he is, initially doesn’t quite fully comprehend the tough decisions. By manipulating the progress of time, Hi-Evolution 1 seems to want to first juxtapose the turbulent emotions of teenage Renton and then gradually draw them closer to Adroc’s convictions. I find it notable that Adroc is voiced by Furuya Tohru, famously the voice of main hero Amuro Ray in the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Not only is there a kind of parity in terms of movie compilation trilogies, but it makes thematic sense that Renton is the “descendant” of Amuro.
Music is a major part of Eureka Seven. Characters’ names, robots, ships, supernatural phenomenon, almost everything is a reference to music (the most obvious one is probably “Ray” and “Charles”). There’s a lot about rhythm and musicality in the series, and it gives me the impression that the creators treat it as a kind of “song.” The full English title is Psalm of Planets, Eureka Seven, after all. The previous film, Pocketful of Rainbows, was an experiment in seeing how different a story they could tell by using existing footage. In it, Renton and Eureka’s circumstances are far different, and even their personalities don’t quite match up with what fans were familiar with. In other words, it felt like a heavy remix of a familiar song, one in which the original tune is almost unrecognizable.
Hi-Evolution 1 feels like a remix that tries to retain more of the source than Pocketful of Rainbows, but still desires to be its own thing. It has the same characters and general story as the TV series, but with a few touches that emphasize different elements more. In particular, the relative lack of Eureka in the film is rather conspicuous, as is the complete absence of Eureka’s “rival,” Anemone. At the very least, we know the answer to the latter, The film concludes with a “next movie preview” showing her that is rather surprising to say, the least. I’m going to leave this exact spoiler ambiguous, but I will say that it looks like Hi-Evolution 2 is going to be deviating more heavily from the TV series, just like Evangelion 2.0.
After the film, Kyoda did a moderated Q&A. In it, he revealed the staff’s code names for the first two films. Hi-Evolution 1 is “Renton 7.” Hi-Evolution 2 is “Anemone 7.” If we think of these films as highlighting and drawing out different essences present in the TV series and creating new melodies from them, the general direction of this trilogy starts to make more sense.
Ash Ketchum (Satoshi in Japan) is an ageless character. Whether it’s 1998 or 2017, Ash will always be 10 years old, will always be traveling with Pikachu, and will always be just not quite good enough to win a major championship. When he’s fighting through Kanto or Kalos, he won’t dominate the competition with his massively powerful Pikachu, and he’s perpetually more of a learner than a master in spite of his experience. It makes sense, because that’s how his character’s supposed to be. When he points his Pokedex at the same Pokemon for the 10th time in 10 years, it’s not because he’s supposed to be dumb but rather for the sake of a young audience who might be watching Pokemon for the first time.
Ash doesn’t always act as the impetuous rookie, and at times he’s allowed to shine as the battle-hardened veteran. Curiously, however, these mainly come when the Pokemon anime is not trying to go through its main narrative. During the filler arc that was the Orange Islands (taking place between the first and second generations of games), Ash was allowed to have a 6 on 6 battle and even defeat the Orange Islands champion. When Ash was participating in the Battle Frontier, post-game content within the context of the games, he would call upon his entire previous roster. The opening video during that arc reflected the full range of Ash’s experience by showing every Pokemon at his disposal (and even cameos by ones since released such as Butterfree). Ash eventually won the Battle Frontier, again showing how strong he was, but only within the between-games storylines.
Perhaps the biggest exception to this rule was when Ash finally got to face Gary in a full on 6-on-6 battle in the Johto League finals. The context behind this was that Gary’s Japanese actor was taking on less of a role in the series so they wanted him to go out with a bang and they succeeded. Just like his eventual Battle Frontier victory, Ash was allowed to show just how much he had learned over the years, at least for one climactic confrontation. It reminds me of how the Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comics kept running even during the years-long lull of no new Sonic games, and it was during those times that they dared to go as far as killing Dr. Robotnik. To a lesser extent, it makes me think of how during the infamous Naruto year-long filler arc, characters such as Hinata were allowed to get new techniques and grow more powerful.
I find Ash’s situation this interesting because it reflects both the realities of making an anime based on an wildly popular game and a desire to provide continuity or growth when the opportunity arises. Ash has to be eternally youthful, yet his viewers grow up and remember all of his adventures. The anime’s creators likely also have to mindful of the source material, especially as the series has grown to such international success (the earliest seasons played rather fast and loose with the rules).
What do you think of this balance? Do you wish Ash could be 20 years old by now, training atop a mountain like Red in Pokemon Gold, Silver, & Crystal?
The Precure Pretty Store in Tokyo has a new batch of idol-style merchandise around the theme of “summer festival.” For it, each of the girls are wearing special outfits and have been separated into different groups around a common theme.
While that’s not unusual in itself, what I find fascinating is that the groups for the most part are not along traditional lines, like “show origin” or “color.” In fact, there doesn’t seem to be any real consistency from one theme to the next. Even so, I think it provides a new perspective on shared values between individual characters, so I’ve decided to lay out the categories below.
White-Haired (Former) Villains: Eas (Higashi Setsuna), Twilight (Akagi Towa)
Princes: Coco, Natts, Masame Oji, Kanata
Villains Disguised as Schoolboys: Kiriya, Luntaro (Wolflun), Kurosu (Close), Rio (Julio)
Young Mascot FairyBoys: Syrup, Pop, Rakeru, Rance, Aroma
(The One Exception) Kira Kira Precure a la Mode: Kenjou Akira, Tategami Aoi, Kirahoshi Ciel, Usami Ichika, Arisugawa Himari, Kotozume Yukari
So what do you think of these categories? Do you like thinking of Precures along these lines? The one category that still perplexes me a bit is “Secret Hard Workers,” because Liko and Miki have very little in common. Is there something else they have in common that I’m missing?
And where would the a la Mode girls fit if they had to be divided into them? Would they all go into “chefs,” or would that only work for some of them? For example, would Aoi fit better in “Musicians?”
Yuri fans have long been into Precure, but a recent episode of the newest series placed yuri front and center into a world that normally shies away from such a direct presentation. See my thoughts on how character age has paved the way for yuri in Precure at Apartment 507.
The Eccentric Family (Uchouten Kazoku) is an anime series of many strengths. Utilizing Japanese mythology to tell a humble yet sprawling tale of family and community, its characters all stand out in different and interesting ways. Of the cast, arguably the most compelling is Benten, a human woman with the powers of a tengu, a divine creature with control of the wind. The original series establishes her as beautiful, powerful, and able to string characters along with the greatest of ease; in a way, she’s a little too perfect, which is why I’m especially impressed that the sequel, The Eccentric Family 2, devotes itself to showing an heretofore unknown side of Benten: when things don’t go her way.
Benten’s teacher is Akadama, an old tengu with injured wings who is incredibly smitten with Benten—something she uses to her full advantage. The Eccentric Family 2 introduces a character called Nidaime (“The Second”), the estranged son of Akadama. As the fallen successor, Nidaime is an incredibly powerful tengu in his own right, and proves it by actually besting Benten in combat. It’s clear how this impacts Benten, who up to this point has been unchallenged. To make a comparison to Dragon Ball Z, Benten is like Freeza: someone who could fight more or less unopposed and thus when it came time to push herself was unaccustomed to doing so. Upon her first defeat, we see Benten training. Even going so far as to visit Hell and wrestle oni.
When Benten and Nidaime finally have their rematch, they’re far more evenly matched, but another of Benten’s strengths, her beauty, is ultimately her downfall. During the fight, Nidaime sets Benten’s hair on fire, and for the very first time in all of The Eccentric Family, she is emotionally compromised. Her scream of horror as she realizes what’s happened to her is so unexpected that, at first, it seems like she’s just playing both the audience and the characters, like she always does. Then, as she falls into the water, it becomes clear that this is no act.
Moreover, Nidaime’s attack highlights another aspect of Benten’s character: how aware she is of her own attractiveness, and the extent to which she actively cultivates it. She clearly knows that her hair, as part of her overall appearance but also as a symbol of erotic feminine beauty, contributes to her aura. It’s what allows her to manipulate everyone, from lowly tanuki to humans to tengu. Losing her hair is akin to losing a significant part of her power and influence.
Benten, in this Ivan Drago-esque position of becoming self-aware of her own mortality, becomes similarly sympathetic to the Soviet boxing champion. She was already a fascinating character, but now you can see the subtle cracks in her armor. Benten doesn’t seem like the type to change significantly or to turn a new leaf, but she goes from being the pinnacle of perfection to someone who perseveres in trying to maintain that infallibility.
“Five years of Aikatsu!“ sounds strange. Sometimes, the series seems like it’s been around forever. Other times, I remember it as one of the many young upstarts nipping at Precure‘s “anime for young girls” throne. However my feelings sway, the reality is that the show is long enough now to have a mega crossover event.
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