The Best of Anime cd review

There was anime music before we you were born. Yes, really and from the start it was surprisingly good. This CD, released in the US is a selection from various anime ranging from the very most ancient to just beyond the mid-90s. Looking at the show titles, I find that I did not watch any of them (except for Sailor Moon), but that wasn't a barrier for me to enjoy the goodies collected here, even more because the general style we all know and love is carried backwards in time so to speak. 

The first three titles come from the 60s and are presented with their English vocals. They show their age, but their quaintness is all the more lovable. Then comes the first transition with with the quirky theme to Urusei Yatsura switching to all Japanese. Then comes the main course, a jaw-dropping series of themes, all extended and all jewels in their own right.  These people from Rhino, the ones who released the CD, were not kidding when they offered the best of anime up to the time. I'll say it: I've watched anime for decades now, and the opening to Oh My Goddess! is the best I've listened to followed by that of Devil Hunter Yohko. Both of these can be found here. Including the rest, I sincerely cannot come with any changes that would make the CD better.  All the vocals are lovely to boot.

The accompanying booklet gives a good synopsis for each show and includes a cel on the front cover (mine was Cutey Honey).

I bought my copy back when it was new and had not listened to it in maybe the last 10 years. When I dusted it off just a couple of weeks ago, I was struck by how fresh the songs still sound when compared to the present offerings. 

Nowadays, vaporwave, future funk and related subgenres are trending. Some of it is good, some not. It amazes me why these have become a thing when the original works are out there in full glory; no need to resort to washed-out bastardizations. Go back to the sample sources, I'm sure you'll love them.

The anime songs from the CD are probably ones that you have not heard before, but they richly deserve to be brought back from obscurity. This is a really late review, but not late enough for you to avail yourself to the music. You can still find copies on Discogs for a few bucks and probably also on eBay.

5 stars

Anime covered:

1. Astro Boy
2. Gigantor
3. Speed Racer
4. Urusei Yatsura
5. Megazone 23
6. Windaria
7. Gunbuster
8. Record of Lodoss War
9. Devil Hunter Yohko
10. Silent Möbius
11. Cat Girl Nuku Nuku
12. New Dominion Tank Police
13. Oh My Goddess
14. New Cutey Honey
15. Macross Plus
16. Sailor Moon

 

Kancolle and history

I admit it. I am one of those persons who rewatch a movie or tv show and hope something different to happen when the set plot doesn't satisfy me. Mostly it is because it is sad or tragic, but always because it stings and when it is real history, specially so. Apparently I'm not alone experiencing this feeling as some others have taken matters into their hands and re-rewritten events of history to take the edge off of what cannot be changed in reality.

Case in point is that of Kantai Collection, or Kancolle for short. In it the characters, or the players in case of the of the game, relive famous events from the Pacific War from the losing Japanese perspective, and allow them to get the outcomes they want. This franchise consists of the flagship game, manga, an anime series and who knows how much else. I'll center my impressions only on the anime as it is the only one I've tried and because, as in case of Koihime Musou, the game looks like an enormous time-waster, despite, or because of its unalloyed fun.

Not to worry: what I've got from the anime is good stuff and quite good. In it the characters embody the spirits of old time Japanese warships and fight the mysterious Abyssals which have risen from the depths to menace the seas. Taken at it's face value, the premise works. But looking through the thin veil the Abyssals can be equated with the US Navy circa 1942 and the protagonists with the Japanese Navy at the time. These last even share the names of the actual ships and some of their historical quirks (poi). Seen this way the the show lends itself for an even richer immersion to the actual historical theater, which leads me to my next point.

Madoka Magica review

What's like to live in a godless world? What's like to give your best and still fail?  What's like to give your best and have as much tries as you like at it and still face an unconquerable challenge that has to be bested? Does giving your all for the right reasons make any difference in this kind of world or does it make matters worse? These are part of the quandaries that face the heroines of Madoka Magica. Stemming from the magical girl theme the characters must make choices that affect themselves, their future and that of the world in more ways that they imagine. Technically a top notch production in visual art and music, it warrants watching for the first three episodes. However at episode 4 events take a screeching turn into unimagined territory that won't be fully explored until the final episodes. Enjoy the first three episodes and tell yourself, why, that was a good show. Stay for more and be prepared for a difficult harrowing drive that doesn't promise to be a good experience. Only the most jaded or blasé can fail to be moved by watching until the end. It's that bad. Five stars if you can stomach it. I couldn't.

5 stars

Is Kyubey Mephistopheles?

Am I cute, or what?

I find that the character Kyubey from the anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica, not as interesting or important as others , nor do I find him (I assume he's male) the most important aspect about the series (by far!), but I thought that a point should be made about him.

What follows contains spoilers up to episode five, which is a respite from the events of previous episodes and because this is as far as I have watched. Spoiler avoidance is especially important in this series.