Tag Archives: md geist

Somewhat Less Perilous: MD Geist the Comic

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Rarely do I get review requests for Ogiue Maniax, but when I was told to review MD Geist, I knew I had to take on the challenge.

MD Geist is somewhat of an anomaly in anime. Largely ignored in Japan, this OVA found success in the United States in the 80s and 90s and helped to define “anime” as something more adult (or at least indicative of hormonal teenagers). With the titular character eventually becoming the “face” of anime through his role as mascot and “spokesmecha” for the anime company Central Park Media, you will find that a certain generation of anime fans feels a close connection to the title. Years later Central Park Media would fund a sequel.

But wait, this isn’t actually a review of the MD Geist OVAs, but of the American-produced comic adaptation by artist and VOTOMS expert Tim Eldred. And through the lens of Mr. Eldred, interesting things happen.

Before I get into the comic though, I have to state what is a commonly-held truth in anime, restated time and again over the past few decades: MD Geist is bad. Its designs are unsuited for animation, its story is paper-thin, its action scenes are only really enjoyable on a surface level, and its characters are poorly realized. At the same time however, it is an enjoyable sort of bad. In many ways it represents a generation of mediocre straight-to-VHS anime.

But it’s difficult to recapture that sort of accidental magic. Tim Eldred understood this well, I assume, as he doesn’t try to bottle magic. Instead, he takes the patches strewn across the floor in disarray and attempts to sew them together into a complete quilt. He adds a back story, he adds character motives, he turns MD Geist into a “real” story rather than an incongruous facsimile of one.

The MD Geist comic is divided into two parts: an origin story for MD Geist and a retelling of the first OVA, with the intent to flesh out Geist’s character. Not only was he a “Most Dangerous Soldier,” but you learn why exactly he was imprisoned and about the woman who first assisted/controlled him. Through this, you get the same impression as one would reading fanfiction. I do not mean that negatively. One of the great strengths of fanfiction is that fans of a series can take the odds and ends of their favorite series and then speculate until their brainstorming session has gone far beyond the original source.

On its own, the MD Geist comic is decent. The only issue with that is that it comes at the expense of the extreme amounts of ridiculousness which pervade the source material to the extent that the original creators cannot even remember why they made any of their creative decisions (check the director’s commentary track on the DVD). Reading the comic over seeing the anime will get you a better story, but it won’t necessarily get you MD Geist.

Praying Towards Castle Grayskull

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When it comes to the international phenomenon that is Pokemon, producer Ishihara Tsunekazu had the following to say:

石原： 北米ではけっこうクラシカルに伝説系のポケモンの人気があるんですけど、リザードンのような見た目か ら強そうなタイプのポケモンが好まれています。それとミュウツーでしょうか。

Ishihara: In North America, classical-style Legendary Pokemon are popular, but Pokemon who look strong like Charizard are also preferred. Mewtwo as well.


Charizard and Mewtwo

While Ishihara then goes on to say that  universally speaking, Pokemon like Pikachu are popular everywhere, I want to to focus mainly on this unique bit of difference North America has.

While I can’t speak for Canada, Mexico, or Central America, I think it’s very well-known that America likes powerful characters. More broadly, America likes the hero who rises above all, the larger-than-life figure. He may have a humble background, but the end result is still strong. It speaks to our culture of individualism, and it is reflected in the popularity of action movies as well as in the existence of iconic heroic figures in cartoons and comics such as Superman, Captain America, He-Man and Flash Gordon. When the US encounters the creative output of another nation such as Japan, it very profoundly reflects this ideal.

This is also partly why I think many of the anime that have been popular in the US are or were popular. Compared to the less popular One Piece, Naruto and Bleach exude seriousness and power in their aesthetics, doubly so for something like Dragon Ball Z. The hyper violence of MD Geist and its contemporaries in the 80s and 90s felt new and fresh to some extent, but that level of violence is I think something comfortably American, animated cousins of action movies.

I think it’s very easy to take one’s own cultural upbringing for granted, to think that the ideals of your own culture are the ideals of everyone else’s. It’s not small-minded or biggoted so much as it is a fairly natural progression if there is nothing to jar you out of it. In an article from 1987, Frederik Schodt, author of Manga! Manga!, points out that American superhero comics do not do well in Japan. Back then, they were considered too plain and too wordy, and today I can tell you that superheroes are better known through their movies than anything else. When I was studying in Japan, I had a conversation with a Japanese classmate, where I tried to explain the Flash to him. I told him he was “red and very fast,” to which he responded, “Daredevil?”

That said, there are a number of manga artists influenced by Americann superhero comics, such as Nightow Yasuhiro (Trigun) and Takahashi Kazuki (Yu-Gi-Oh!). In anime, it goes at least as far back as Gatchaman. Still, you will find that just as we have taken anime and said, “This is what we like in our anime,” they have said, “This is what we like in superheroes” and transformed it into something more in-line with their culture.

Cultural exchange, as they call it.

One last thing to dwell on is the way Europe has approached anime and manga. Taniguchi Jiro, who is influenced by the French comic artist Moebius, is much more popular in Moebius’s home country than he is in the US. His style is very European, incorporating complex and detailed backgrounds and placing a great visual emphasis on environment (not to be confused with “the environment”). But as I said before, I’m no expert on European comics, so I’ll leave someone else to fill in that blank until I catch up.

Non-Psychic Psychic Sword vs Hindu Magic Lasers

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A few months back I was fortunate enough, blessed, I might say, to have the opportunity watch two incredible animated classics: Psychic Wars and Crystal Triangle.

Seeing those two OVAs on the same day made me aware of just how similar these two fine works are. Both concern heroes in noble professions who must confront an ancient inhuman race of evil beings who wish to once again replace humans as the dominant species of the planet using the most nonsense logic and power set possible. I know that describes a lot of bad 80s OVAs but these two in particular are so alike that if the world were a little different, I think that we’d be seeing not a crossover between all of the Pretty Cure girls or Naruto, Luffy, and Goku, but one between Psychic War’s Retsu Ukyou and Crystal Triangle’s Kamishiro Kouichirou. Or at the very least arguing about who would win in a fight.

Actually, we could do that right now. Let’s compare our two heroes.

Retsu Ukyou: Surgeon, visited by ancient spirits who give him “Psychic Powers,” which apparently means being able to summon swords and spears out of thin air. Shirt has a tendency to rip open to reveal his mighty pecs. Travels back in time to fight evil beasts whose goal is to travel into the future so that they can wipe out humanity. Does the nasty with a girl who turns out to be their last surviving member.

Kamishiro Kouichirou: World-famous archaeologist, gained his “Upanishad” powers and his ability to read “Jindai Moji” by studying with monks. Upanishad in this case manifests itself as the ability to shoot lasers out of magical batons. Shirt also has a tendency to burst open to further emphasize masculinity. Fights an evil over ten million years old that consists of alien buddhist monk dinosaurs who have been waiting for an evil star to empower them so that they can take over the world once more. Does not do the nasty with the girl who is the catalyst for the evil monsters’ return, but would have.

You’d think Kamishiro would definitely have the advantage with his Upanishad giving him a range advantage, but I’m pretty sure Retsu would be able to think of a way to get in close, where his superior close combat weapons would give him the edge. Ultimately though, the fight would come down to a matter of wits and cunning, as both men are incredibly resourceful and would be trying out-think the other. Is Retsu standing near any crates of dynamite, for instance? Well maybe he is, but it’s actually a trap to lure Kamishiro to attack, during which Retsu would use his knowledge of human anatomy to deliver a knock-out spear. But of course Kamishiro is too smart for that.

It’s a complex scenario which far transcends any intellectual battles by Lelouch and Schneizel, Kira and L, and Encyclopedia Brown and Wilford Wiggins.

Now, if the two of them could team up to fight the Most Dangerous Soldier known as Geist, then we’d have a real Japanimation on our hands.