Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem

In a far corner of the universe, four members of a popular Alien rock band have been kidnapped.  Brought to Earth, they are brainwashed and turned into the next big thing, under the guidance of a powerful record producer.  Racing to save them is an intergalactic hero named Shep, who also happens to be a fan.  Even if he can reach the band, there’s still the brewing questions this tale presents: why was the band abducted and brought to Earth?  What is this producers endgame for them?  And what is the terrifying truth behind the Secret Star System located in Darkwood Manor?  The answers may change the fate of two races forever.

Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem was conceived back in 2001 while Daft Punk was hard at work on their second album, Discovery.  In several interviews they had noted how Leiji Matsumoto (Galaxy Express 999, Captain Harlock, Space Battleship Yamato) and his works had been a huge influence on their own music and they had sought to do an animated piece alongside him.  A marriage of brilliance and culture, a celebration of music, Anime, fandom and the past.

While I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is Anime’s answer to Disney’s Fantasia, Interstella is still one very amazing piece of musical animation.  The film has no dialogue so I can see how that might hamper casual viewers enjoyment of it…and that’s a shame.  I think the movie did a good job of telling us everything we needed to know about the world and story without a single word being spoken by any character.  Even the lyrics of some of the songs did the job just fine.  It’s easy to get from beginning to end without needing much clarification.  That being said, one thing I was confused about at times was how much the band knew about their lives when they got their memories back.  Did they know they were aliens or just think they were brainwashed artists from Earth?  It’s a nitpick really and I think you can make your own conclusions with your own viewing.

The music is the stuff of legends…obviously this is Daft Punk.  Personally I see no reason why this duo cant just produce the score for every film or Anime for the rest of time (Tron Legacy aka the best part of that movie, will probably be the closest we get to them doing a film score again for a while).  That being said, this is a rare treat to have their music used this way.  Every single track from Discovery is used in it’s entirety with very few edits, if any.  And as I said above, the music tells the story with only song lyrics at times, though the way it meshes with the animation, you wouldn’t need those lyrics either.  Still, two of my personal favorite parts (Digital Love and Something About Us), involving Shep and Stella, the beautiful lead Guitarist of the band, meld beats with honest lyrics and are both inspiring and also heartbreaking given where they respectively take place in the film.

Interstella 5555 is a movie that while I wish there could be an expanded series, is thankfully one of a kind.  Daft Punk got to live it’s dream of working with an artist who drove them to make music that we got to hear in this movie.  And we got to enjoy a film about music and stardom, love and sacrifice, adventure and exploration, all of the good things that made Anime from the 70’s and 80’s so memorable.  If you’re a Daft Punk fan or a fan of techno/dance, I recommend it.  If you’re an Anime fan, I recommend it.  If you want a fun and soothing massage for the sense that involves music and Anime…oh yeah this one will make you feel alive again after a hard day.

9/10

Lock and Load for next week as we head back to Roanapur for the long awaited second season of Black Lagoon.  The Second Barrage begins, see ya then.

AMV Friday #4-Final Fantasy Inception

Video: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Audio: Inception Trailer 2

(The following video is a fan based production.  All titles are property of their respective owners, please support the official release.)

Inception was the big movie of 2010 and the previews helped sell the movie very well.  It was after I had seen it at work that Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within popped into my head.  FF was another movie that dealt heavily with dream interpretation and dreams being very integral to the plot of the film.  I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my Red vs. Blue trailer and try to sync audio and video as best as I could.  This is one of my favorites because it does just that and it is one of my much better fares with Final Fantasy than a certain Expendables trailer I did only a few weeks prior. (May show that one at a later date…maybe…maybe not…still thinking.  Im kind of just pulling AMV’s from a grab bag at this point haha.

T5W#3-Top 5 Favorite Anime Heroines

Anime has it’s more than fair share of ultimate bad ass heroes.  But there have always been an equal amount of female power houses right along side them.  From the early days of femme fatales like Queen Emeraldas from Galaxy Express 999 (above) to Asuka Langley Soryu of Neon Genesis Evangelion to Ryuko Matoi from Kill La Kill.  So for this weeks T5W, I’m counting down my current Top 5 favorites Anime Heroines, not just cause they’re gorgeous but because they can stand more than equal alongside their male counterparts, sometimes even higher.

 

#5-Celty Sturlson (Durarara)

At first glance, Celty might seem like an odd one to have on this list.  But you know what?  She’s not just awesome, she surprisingly very human for someone without a head.  Despite her powers and knack for wielding a pretty sick sythe, she gets frustrated, excited, joyful and even scared just like anyone else.  Her romance with Shinra brings out the best in her and you gotta love how she conveys her emotions with a shiver and a type on her cellphone.  Plus she’s got a headless horse that can turn into a motorcycle or whatever she needs it to be, points for major imagination.  Celty’s a being you need to see to believe and when you do, you’ll want to hang with her just like all the other cool company of Ikebukero.

#4-Revy (Black Lagoon)

Short shorts and dual guns, how could I not fall in love at my own risk?  Revy’s the kind of girl you don’t bring home to mother simply because she’d probably try to kill your mom on the account of being told off for her foul mouth.  Her true love is death and she enjoys moonlit walks on the beach that end in an old school wild west quick draw shoot out.  Revy can make a bloodbath look so tragic but so cool at the same time.  Her no mercy no words needed erasure of a ship full of Neo Nazi’s says all you need to know about her.  Revy’s the ultimate gun youd want on your side.  Keeping her content, now that’s a challenge.  Just throw her a dirt bag in need of hurting and you should be fine.

#3-Misato Katsuragi (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Anyone who puts up with someone as insufferable as Shinji Ikara should be on anyones list of bad ass heroines.  True it was Misato’s looks that caught my attention right off the bat but you gotta love the tough girl underneath the sexy exterior.  Misato may use her looks to flirt and get her way but that doesn’t mean she wont draw her gun on you and blow your head off if she feels it’s necessary.  Even though she’s older than the core trio, Misato is just as damaged like everyone on the show.  Still, she's one of the characters of Eva it's ok to root for, which is saying something for anyone in the cast of Evangelion.  I'd want her coordinating any operation anyday.

#2-Rin Toshaka (Fate/Stay Night)

This one is a bit more recent.  I had seen Rin pop up here and there across the net and got my first exposure to her in Fate/Zero.  Even for a little kid, I loved her determination and kind heart and it only evolved further when we saw her again in Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works.  But here Rin was now a full fledged, battle ready mage even if she was still learning along the way.  She’s tough and tries to act like a cold hearted bitch but also still a girl crushing on her newfound ally, Shiro.  And in truth when UBW got really irritating, it was Rin who always kept me in good spirits, whether it was kicking ass or realizing her own feelings for Shiro.  There’s something about her that screams admirable and likeable…maybe it’s the pigtails or the fact that she could be Anime’s answer to Zatanna at a younger age.  Whatever it is, Rin made a hell of an impression on me, so much I put her at #2 on this list.

 

#1-Sailor Mars (Sailor Moon)

My first and eternal Anime love.  Rei Hino is a tough girl with a heart of fiery gold who looks plain beautiful in a Sailor Fuku.  I know many hold other Sailor Senshi like Mercury, Pluto or Jupiter (a lot of people love Makoto).  And I can see and understand why.  But Mars has always stuck with me from my first Sailor Moon promo and will probably never be topped.  She may act high and mighty (not to the degree of Uranus and Neptune) but she’s still always there for her friends and her Sailor Moon especially.  Rei is the true Princess of Mars for me and always will be.

Im sure everyone list is far different and for other reasons.  Any other #1 favorites or wifus amongst Anime’s stunning females?  Let me know in the comments below.

 

 

RWBY Vol.2

(I know it’s far late but I still dedicate this review to the memory of RWBY Series Creator, Monty Oum, who passed away February 1, 2015)

The new semester has begun for Team RWBY and everything is about to change.  The teams dynamic is stronger than ever but it’s also about to be tested like never before.  While things may seem peaceful and exciting at Beacon, the looming unseen threat in the darkness is getting stronger.  And what’s worse, the enemy may be right under everyones noses at the school.  Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang will face stronger foes but also strengthen their sisterhood.  For if they cant stand alongside their fellow Huntsman and Huntresses in a united front, Beacon will fall.  All this plus mecha, monsters and the cutest little mascot you’ve ever seen in your life.

The first volume of RWBY may not have been perfect by any means but it was always a lovable show.  The Anime inspired artstyle, characters, action and storytelling were all nearly universally well received by fans.  So you can bet anticipation for Vol.2 was high.  And for the most part, the next chapter managed to surpass the first one in almost every way…even if some problems hadn’t been quite fixed yet.

First off, I gotta say I was so stunned by the fact that every single person in Beacon was animated.  In the first season, anyone who was a main or secondary cast member was a grey scaled occupant.  This year, everyone has color and personality right down to the smallest detail.  I knew from that first notice alone that this was going to be good.  And then we got right down to the best return of the core favorites, Team RWBY and Team JNPR we could have ever asked for…AN EPIC FOODFIGHT.  Ruby’s bold declaration pretty much summed up my hopes for the season as a whole, “Justice will be swift, justice will be painful.  It will be…DELICIOUS!!!!” 

Well it was delicious.  RWBY Vol.2 ended up being a tour de force of everything that had come before.  The action that creator Monty Oum was famous for was kicking all kinds of ass.  He even stepped it up having Ruby and her friends take on not just bigger monsters but giant mecha as well.  The highway chase gave Team RWBY a chance to show how far they’ve come since we last saw them with perfect displays of teamwork and specially designed moves from full team to pairs.  The other fights to follow were good, if I bit too many.  But we did get a nice cap off to this element with a no holds barred smack down fight between Ruby and her classmates and an invading army of Grim.  This is action imagination on display at it’s finest and another reason why Monty Oum will be forever missed…more on that in a moment.

The characters were all given some great moments to shine, not just in the action category.  Our core four heroines were better than ever. The lessons from Season One had been learned and characters like Ruby and Weiss never fell back into old rivalries.  And everyone only got stronger from there.  A very tender scene for Blake and Yang involved strong shows of friendship and a surprising dark backstory for both Yang and Ruby.  Team JNPR got some good and sad times when it came to Jaune and Pyrrah.  The couple everyone wants to work out continues to grow closer but yet still be so far apart when it comes to potential romance, Jaune still attempting to hook up with Weiss rather than see the girl who clearly cares more for him.  Son, introduced at the end of Season One, got some time to shine with his cool old friend Neptune, both characters providing much of the comic relief this time around.  We also got the introduction of the inevitable RWBY mascot, the ever adorable Zwei, Ruby and Yang’s little grey corgi who is instantly loved by anyone…and can double as an intentional projectile…AWESOME!!!!

However, Vol.2 did have many of it’s Vol.1 problems still present.  As cool as the action was, maybe there was too much of it and not enough focus on bringing more of the plot of the villains to light.  We’re two seasons in and we still have no inkling as to who or what is the main force of evil, I doubt very much it’s Torchwick.  We saw several of his allies infiltrate Beacon this year but they didn’t do much besides snicker in the background, reveling in being right alongside Ruby and her friends without them realizing they’re the bad guys.  We got more and more annoying hits to the growing darkness but im wondering how far into this series lifespan we will actually see it and get some answers as to what the heck is going on with the White Fang, the Grim, Torchwick, everything.  Also, still no sign of that tournament they hyped up at the end of last season and I was waiting all season to see. 

Sadly, as many of you know, Series Creator Monty Oum passed away back in February, so RWBY Vol.2 is not just the last part of RWBY he’d ever work on but the last work of his life.  It has been confirmed by Rooster Teeth that RWBY will continue with Vol.3 later this year.  That being said, even if it does lack a proper conclusion, RWBY Vol.2 was the final masterpiece from a man who loved to do what he did: animate, imagine, dream and realize.  And though I think it has it’s faults, like Vol.1, I still enjoy it and cherish it’s energy and imagination and incredibly loveable characters.  RWBY is the final love letter/immortalization of one mans love of anime and his desire to create a story based around that medium.  We lost someone special this year, but with RWBY, Monty’s legacy will live forever…and I cant wait to see how it continues with his blessing.

8/10

September arrives next week and right before I get into the long awaited second season of Black Lagoon, we’ll be taking a look at another recent hit inspired by the creators love of Anime.  French Techno group sensation Daft Punk and legendary Anime creator Leiji Matsumoto joins forces to bring us: Interstella 5555-Secret of the Five Star System.  See ya next week everyone.

AMV Friday #3-Evangelion: Reloaded AND Evangelion: Reloaded REDUX

Video: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth & Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

Audio: The Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions Teaser

 

(The following video is a fan based production.  All titles are property of their respective owners, please support the official release.)

 

Reloaded

Reloaded REDUX

 

This was one of the first AMV projects I did while back in college.  Back then I didn’t have access to the best quality footage so it was about working with what little I could scrounge from the net to make a video.  Couldve been worse I suppose.  But then I graduated and got better software and wanted another shot at this.  I went back through both movies and added new bits while tweeking others but for the most part the Redux is almost a full on shot for shot remake.  So this week you’re getting a then and later double feature.  There’s like a…wow, three year gap between both versions.  How could you not look at these two movies and think Matrix Sequel Double Feature?  Ok maybe that was just me at the time but I hope it makes sense as you watch this.  I doubt Gendo needs Laurence Fishburne’s cool voice to voice his thoughts on destiny and the end of the world and what’s worth dying for…that last bit doesn’t apply to Gendo as everyone should die for well just his own I don’t give a f*** needs.  Still, if the Evangelion double feature movies were given this kind of trailer treatment…id be more excited than I already was.

 

Maybe another classic one next week if I continue to raid my old files on my harddrive.  See ya Monday for a new review.