January's Newtype USA arrived on my doormat late and amid reports that the
magazine will be ceasing publication with the February issue. But there's
still this month's DVD to look at...
First up was
"Project Blue Earth SOS"
This is a sci-fi series. vehicles powered by a new power source known as
the
G-Reaction engine are vanishing without trace. Having witnessed the
disappearance of a new bullet train in a shower of rainbow coloured
lights, two
boy geniuses set out to find out exactly what is going on. What they find
is
that an alien invasion of Earth is in progress.
The style of the voice-over narration at the end of the episode exhorting
you
to watch the next episode, very much reminded me of the series that used
to be
on Saturday morning children's TV many years ago. The episode certainly
had a
sort of 'Saturday morning adventure series' feel to it, not that that's
entirely a bad thing.
What did puzzle me was the setting, and origin, of the series. The series
was
made in 2006 and is set in the year 2000, but it's a year 2000 that's
nothing
like the year 2000 that we knew. The style of architecture is the sort of
thing sci-fi writers in the 50's and 60's thought the year 2000 would be
like.
Then there was...
"Angel Sanctuary"
Another foray into the supernatural horror movie genre. It's all here,
the boy
with some sort of past life other self that a couple of others are trying
to
awaken, ordinary looking thugs who transform into tentacle waving
monsters,
guys with feathered wings, oh and the obligatory scenes of blood and
violence.
If you like series like Tokyo Majin you'll probably like this, but to me
it
came across as pretentious nonsense and left me wondering why I wasted 25
minutes watching it.
Finally there was...
"Kanon"
This is the story of a guy who comes to live with his aunt and her
daughter
while he attends high school. He's been there before, but many years ago
and
he can't remember much about it. This is a good introductory episode as
it
neatly sets the scene, introduces the three main characters and has
walk-on
scenes for some of the others. If you're looking for an all action story
then
you're going to be disappointed with this one as it's quiet slice-of-life
style
series, but why not try it anyway? It has some interesting characters and
a
good storyline. If you like series like Air and To Heart you're going to
like
Kanon. Of the three this is the best of the bunch and one I'm buying.
== Peter ==
-----------------------------------------------------
"There's no such thing as a
weapon that doesn't kill"
(Chise: Saikano)
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