anime - manga - sci-fi - art
We stumbled across a true gem on the main Akihabara drag today; a store that sold only old Nintendo products and emulators. In amongst the Famicom and N64 carts my girlfriend spotted what’s pictured above: this beautifully formed Bomberman multi-tap. I’ve never seen a video-game peripheral evoke such nostalgic glee in a 28 year old woman before. The whole place was fanboy(and girl) heaven.
I was procrastinating preparing to do some work today by clearing out my office/studio/spare room, when I found myself taking the above photo. I was emptying a drawer of the usual flotsam of modern life, when I realised it was subtly different. Maybe it’s because I’m weird, but instead of the usual collection of random badges, elastic bands, paperclips and the tops off lost biros, this little pile included:
I don’t know why I took a photo of it. Possibly because it’s in someway a comment on how the minutiae of even the most mundane aspects of our lives have been changed by our reliance on consumerism and technology. Or something.
If you can actually use any of this shit then give me a shout.
I’d been sat on Vexille for a while before watching it, to be honest. After the disappointment I felt from seeing the last Appleseed movie, I wasn’t sure if I could face another cold looking, mecha based, entrely CGI anime. But there’s an important fact that kept slipping my mind about Vexille, and that revitalised my interest every time I remembered it - that its the second movie from director Fumihiko Sori.
Sori, for the uninitiated, is probably best known for directing the live action Japanese film Ping Pong back in 2002. A small, gentle, touching but often very funny movie about friendships and rivalries between table tennis obsessed teenage boys, it became a huge favourite in our household after we caught a showing of it at the Bath Film Festival a few years ago. It’s a movie that works completely because of characterization, dialogue and the emotional relationships between the central characters, and with this in mind I was hopeful that Sori might breath some life and depth into the mechanical looking Vexille, seeing that he had sole responsibility for writing, directing and editing.
For a start, Vexville has a far more promising and involved premise than Appleseed. It’s 2077, and the UN has imposed severe limitations on the development of AI, robotics and nanotechnology, fearing that their unmonitored use could pause a threat to human civilisation. This has, quite understandably, pissed off Japan, who are the world leaders in this field, and have adopted a policy of isolationism, and taken this to an extreme never quite seen before. While they still trade with the outside world - selling robot and weapon technology to the highest bidders, they have literally sealed off the country using a powerful electromagnetic thingamybob field, which blocks all communication and observation including satellite photography, and no foreigner has set foot on Japanese soil for over a decade. Enter the eponymous Vexille, a female UN anti-terrorist agent and her squad of hi-tech commandos, tasked with sneaking through and then disabling the magic field so that UN snoopers can have a good look at what’s really going on.
And it’s here that things do start to get a little interesting. Without spoiling the big reveal too much for you, Vexille from this point onwards depicts a Japan that has undergone a singularity. For those of you not familiar with the concept, and who can’t be arsed the read that wikipedia link, the singularity is a point in the future where technological acceleration, and specifically the development of artificial intelligence, get to a point where machines are more intelligent than man. It’s a very common theme in contemporary science fiction, and in many ways has been used to create a slightly more utopian backlash against the dystopian worlds presented in cyberpunk. While writers like William Gibson used cybernetics and AI to paint images of hyper-corporate, corrupt societies, singularity writers use them to create worlds where scarcity and poverty are history, and nanotechnology is used to clean up the environment that science had previously wrecked. I won’t bore you with my involved views on the concept, but needless to say I’m sceptical. As a scientific principal it seems sound - if you disregard the fact that AI research has failed, for decades, to make the developments it has promised. But as a social concept I’m far more sceptical, not just of the the singularity itself, but of utopias in general. And as a device in science fiction, well that’s where I really have issues. While some writers have handled the concept well, for many it seems to me that it’s become more a way of repositioning science (and as a result scientists) as mankind’s godlike saviours, after years of cyberpunk chipping away at it’s ivory tower. Too often it feels too much like the utopian pop SF of the 1950s, where everyone sat around waiting for their nuclear powered hovercars, robot butlers and daytrips to venus, instead of trying to deal with the social issues of the time.
Okay, rant over. Again, while trying to avoid spoilers, what Vexille does is present a Japan post singularity where things are as pretty far from a utopia as you can get. And while it’s not the first SF movie to take this angle - arguably both Terminator and The Matrix do the same thing - it does it in a far more contemporary way, using popular singularity fiction ideas like nanotechnology, uploading and the physical re-shaping of the environment to create its own dystopian hell. And largely it works, even when some of the ideas verge on the more fantastic and unbelievable. What I mean by works is that it’lll be enough to get up the backs of the likes of Ray Kurzweil and everyone else that’s sipped the trans/posthumanist Kool Aid, and that’s fine by me.
Sadly, despite this over-arching theme of the failed, de-humanising singularity, there’s not much else plot wise to get excited about. After the setting has been established we’re treated instead to a fairly predictable and largely uninspiring parade of action sequences, set pieces and high speed chases. Even more disappointingly, considering Sori’s pedigree, characters are largely two dimensional and the dialogue is uninspiring, and we find ourselves back in familiar Appleseed territory. I’m not sure why this is in particular an issue for purely CGI anime; whether it’s because the script has to work harder to offset the clinical visuals, or whether its because studios are still concentrating too much on the production technology than the writing, but it’s something that’s haunted the sub-genre since Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Unlike some critics, I don’t subscribe to the opinion that CGI anime will always be artistically inferior to it’s hand-drawn relatives, but on the evidence so far it is hard not to argue against it being cold and emotionless.
Which brings us to the visuals. I’d love to say that Vexille is another CGI tour-de-force, but sadly much of the time it fails to impress in this area too. There are some fantastic moments - especially the sprawling US city scenes and the wonderful fly-bys of the bustling Japanese shanty towns, but a lot of the time you can’t help feeling that you’ve seen it all before. The mecha designs, whilst being perhaps more realistic looking in an industrial design sense, seem flat and un-stylish compared to the Shirow created Landmates of Appleseed. And at other times it feels like it borrows imagery too heavily from films like Mad Max, Dune and even Star Wars without leaving its own personal touch. Don’t get me wrong - it’s by no means ugly or aesthetically unpleasing at any point, it just has a tendency to feel rather dull and flat.
So, is it worth seeing? Yeah, I guess so. If you’re interested in singularity theories but don’t want to dive into too much detail, and you’re not yet bored of high-tech CGI action, then give it a go. If you want proper characterisation and depth with your sci-fi anime, then look elsewhere. Personally, i’m starting to feel a little fed up with CGI mecha action, and believe me, that’s something I never really expected myself to say.
NOTE: also sometimes spelled ‘Dennou Coil’
Produced by cult animation studio Madhouse and directed by relative newcomer Mitsuo Iso, Denno Coil first started airing in Japan in May of last year, which is when I first started watching it, courtesy of Ureshii’s sublime fansubs. In fact, I watched the first 8 episodes just days after each one was first broadcast, but with other commitments and time conspiring against me, I criminally left the rest of the series untouched on my hard drive for months, until last week when I had a chance to sit down and try and catch up. I got as far as episode 12, still leaving me with another 14 to watch, and believe me, I’m going to be doing whatever I can to get through them. That new short story I’m working on may just have to wait a little bit longer.
Centred around a group of Japanese elementary school children, the show is at first glance apparently aimed at that age group, but with closer inspection that’s about as useful an assessment as dismissing My Neighbour Totoro or Spirited Away as just kids’ films. In fact, I wouldn’t be the first critic to make the comparison between Denno Coil and some of Ghibli’s better crafted output, and it is a wholly deserved and justifiable one.
Set in 2026, it tells the story of young Yūko Okonogi, who moves with her family to the city of Daikoku, the technological centre of an emerging half-virtual world, created after the introduction of internet-connected augmented reality eyeglasses eleven years previously. This new technology has now become as common place as, and in fact replacing the role of, cell phones for Daikoku’s inhabitants. As such it has become massively popular with children, and even before Yūko can start at her new school, she finds herself tied up with a group of kids that spend their whole life in this augmented, half-real digital world, playing with virtual pets, battling each other with over the top (but of course harmless) cartoon weapons, hunting for the gem-like ‘meta-bugs’ and investigating the mysterious computer viruses known as ‘Illegals’.
From the very first episode the series is enthralling and compelling, for a number of reasons, the most significant of which being the way that the writers and animators have managed to create an all too believable world, with carefully thought out logical rules and systems. As a viewer it is impossible not to believe in the technology it depicts, or to avoid being convinced that something very, very similar lies just around our collective corner. As you watch you quickly start to understand how this augmented world works and behaves, and it starts to feel less like an anime fantasy and more like a description of a futuristic personal operating system, with it’s screen wrapped around you and its icons and interfaces pulled out into three dimensions. As the children play and interact with the colourful, often cartoon like objects and creatures that the glasses insert into their world, it’s clear that each one represents real-world, familiar computer applications; the ‘metatag’ stickers that they stick on traffic lights to change them are in fact hackers’ scripts, the over zealous floating robots that patrol the city are in fact anti-virus software, and the slimy, odious ‘Illegal’ creatures that hide in the shadows are fragments of malicious code. One of my strongest beliefs is that good science fiction always makes social commentary on the time in which it was written, and it is here that Denno Coil excels, presenting a world where children are more in touch with technology than their parents, are obsessed with video games and Pokemon style fads, and where peer pressure and owning the latest gadgets can become almost disturbingly important.
Visually every episode I’ve watched to date is excellent, as you would expect from a studio of the pedigree of Madhouse behind it. Again character design is reminiscent of Ghibli - especially Yūko’s little sister and the ‘Mojo’ virtual pets, who both reference famous charcaters from Totoro - but it is depiction of the technology and it’s interfaces that really grabs the attention. Everything feels like a slightly warmer, more user friendly versions of the AR tech we’re familiar with from Ghost in the Shell, and again it borrows heavily from video game aesthetics, although this time leaning to the slightly more kawaii, Nintendo style, rather than the dark, violent vibe shown in recent games influenced work like Appleseed. While this is mainly due to the age of the characters and the shows family target demographic in Japan, it works perfectly, referencing fads like Pokemon without ever feeling quite as childish or overly cute. Also impressive is the noise and digital glitching effects subtly employed throughout the show - so subtly in fact that many viewers at first thought they were quality control issues - that remind the viewer that what both they and the characters are experiencing is not always real.
What ultimately makes Denno Coil such a success for me though, and i’m so pleased to be writing this, is the writing. The dialogue feels natural at all times, even when the characters are talking about technology and concepts that are unfamiliar to the viewer, and the children act in wholly believable ways. The whole series is accessible and friendly, while at the same time having the sort of downbeat atmosphere usually only found in Oshii movies - while at first we seem to be just watching child characters develop, there is constantly the feeling that some sinister mystery is gradually unravelling, and that perhaps some terrible secret will unveil itself before the series ends. Certainly it’s yet another example of how the Japanese have become masters of writing not only for anime, but also TV in general, and is possibly the best example since Planetes I’ve seen of their ability effortlessly fit so plot, humour and real character depth into 25 minutes, leaving you wishing that we took are TV writing, for both adults and children, anywhere near as seriously.
With still 14 more episodes left to watch I can firmly say that, unless it seriously jumps the shark, Denno Coil is set to be a remembered as a true classic in anime TV history. But don’t just take my word for it, go and grab the first episode right now, kick back and just relish in it.
Or at least his writers are. Once again they seem able to sum everything up in just under five minutes:
Updated: link fixed, video working again…
Just a quick one…had a clear out of the loft yesterday, and as a result I’m selling on some of my retro video games collection on ebay this week. Hard decision to take, because I love some of this stuff…even though I never use it, I just love looking at the packaging, especially on the Japanese stuff like the Wonderswan and the imported SNES games. Ah well.
Still not parting with my Dreamcast or Atari VCS stuff…not yet anyway…
Ebay:
Rare SNES Super Scope light gun thing
Neo Geo Pocket Color plus games
Someone has too much time on their hands…
.
It was with some slight trepidation that I sat down to watch Appleseed Ex Machina this weekend; the completely CGI anime is a sequel to the 2004 Appleseed, with both being based on Masamune Shirow’s classic 1985 manga. Being a fan of the original printed version (and Shirow’s work in general), I found little in the first film beyond it’s impressive visuals to get me excited, sadly.
For those of you with no prior experience, the background to the Appleseed series is kind of interesting. Set some point in the 22nd century, after a non-nuclear war has destroyed 90% of world civilisation, it tells the story of the rise of Olympus, a high-tech floating city-state. Apparently utopian at first glance, the city is populated by a mixture of baseline humans, cyborgs and ‘bioroids’; genetically engineered humans designed with altered emotions to bring peace and stability to the city. For both the reader of the manga and the viewer of these two films, our point of view into this world is through the two main protagonists and lovers; female human Deunan Knute and the once human but now fully cyborg Briareos Hecatonchires. Both veterans of the war, they find themselves trying to adjust to life in Olympus, whilst also being recruited into ESWAT, a high-tech special weapons police unit detailed with keeping the peace in the so-called Utopian city. In the original Shirow uses this environment to explore the moral, political and social issues raised by this very artificial utopia, whilst also showcasing the beautifully visualised technology, gadgets, weapons and mecha that he is famed for. Unfortunately, while the movies deal with the latter in exhilarating style, it’s with the former thematic issues where they start to disappoint.
But let’s look at the positives first. Visually the film rarely fails to impress; the city of Olympus, its inhabitants and their technology and weapons are all rendered in a colourful, bold, energetic style. Of special note are the Landmate Mechas; the distinctive powered fighting suits that the ESWAT members ride into combat, which look like they’ve stepped off the page of the manga, matching Shirow’s designs perfectly and moving in subtly realistic ways. Gone is the slightly cell-shaded style of the first film, that aimed to make the characters look more hand drawn, in favour of a pure-CGI look, which while probably appeasing the many fans that disliked the look of the first film, I can’t help wondering if it doesn’t make the film seem slightly colder. Certainly the only place where the film failed visually for me at times was when depicting human characters, and especially their expressions…faces seemed too plastic, too clean and somewhat lifeless. While motion capture was clearly used for character movement, it looks very unlikely that it was for faces - probably due to budget and time constraints - and at times it’s clear much more attention has been lavished on the intricacies of the mecha and their weapons than on bestowing life into the protagonists. While a deeper, more challenging narrative would have used the emotionless plasticity of both the human and bioroid characters to subtly infer something about the true nature of Olympus, instead AsDE’s weak plot leaves it instead feeling like you’re watching yet another video game cut-scene.
Which is exactly where I started to have problems with the film. It borrows heavily, and faithfully, from computer game aesthetics - and there are a lot of times when this approach works perfectly. The action scenes are at times breathtaking, especially the aerial combat scenes between the Landmates, and are almost enough on their own to recommend the film. In fact, if like me, you are a mecha freak then the film is definitely worth seeing for these designs and action sequences. Similarly if, god forbid, you’re some sort of Michael Bay loving explosions freak, then you’ll have fun. But sadly the borrowing from video games doesn’t end there, and it feels like the producers take too many pointers from one area where games are famously weak: plot.
I mean there is some plot here, something painfully obvious about a new consumer technology (an actually quite cool looking, but never really explained in any detail, augmented reality cell phone type system) being used to control the actions of it’s users. And there’s even a sub-plot, with the introduction of a new character cloned from Briareos’ DNA, so that he looks exactly like the cyborg before he went full-op - which of course leads to weird if predictable emotional reactions from the two central characters - even hinting at a painful love triangle - but this never goes anywhere and is almost forgotten by the third act, despite being probably the script’s most potentially interesting angle. Instead the plot feels all too much like videogame padding between levels - sorry - action sequences, culminating in an impressive final battle that looks a little too much like an end of game boss encounter (and even worse, slightly like the fall of Zion in the third, terrible Matrix film). The problem was, despite how frenetic the action was at this point, with the plot failing to grip me I found myself wondering whether I really cared any more.
Which is, sadly, why I was ultimately disappointed with Appleseed Ex Machina. Coming from being a fan of the manga, it seemed an awful waste to, again, not try and tackle the subtle but important themes that Shirow pre-occupies himself with in the original. Especially when you contrast the dense, sometimes dizzying, philosophical and political plots Shirow’s most successful adaptations; Production IG’s and Mamoru Oshii’s famous Ghost in the Shell movies and TV series. Disappointing, like I say, but still fun in places. If you’re into mecha, high-tech video-game violence or just uber-cool CGI in general, it’s still worth checking out. Just don’t expect to be intellectually challenged, or to be able to skip the more boring cut-scenes by hitting ‘A’ on your gamepad.
Heh.
If any of you have read the extract from my short story Paparazzi, you’ll remember a couple of the characters communicating with each other using something called a ‘Voice-Free Choker’ - a neck band that picks up nerve signals to the larynx and converts them into text or speech. Well, this morning I stumbled across this video at New Scientist of someone demonstrating what appears to be exactly that technology:
Of course I’m not really claiming to have thought this up - this system was developed by Texas Instruments - but the first I heard of the concept it was being touted by NASA to be built into the spacesuits for the probably-never-going-to-happen first manned Mars mission. The demo here shows it being used to make a phone-call, but I envisioned it being used for in game communications and for when privacy is needed in public spaces. Of course if it can convert ‘thoughts’ to speech it can also convert to text….handsfree SMS texting, anyone?
Very cool.
A couple of new promos for the Wachowski brothers’ live action remake of the classic 1960’s anime series Speed Racer have hit the matrix…well, I say live action in the broadest of terms, as you’ll see the movie looks to be a largely CGI affair.
In fact, what’s caught my interest with these clips isn’t just the source material or the use of CGI, but the blatant use of video games asthetics as opposed to what you might expect from the usual Hollywood blockbuster. While the Matrix flicks borrowed heavily and openly from anime, Speed Racer sees the Wachowskis apparently borrowing from console racing games like F-Zero, Wipeout and Burnout. Damn, with the slow-mo shots and the unrealistic physics you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching a trailer for, or even the replay mode of, some slightly generic-if-pretty 360 racer.
While I have to say I’m a little disappointed they’re not making more of the sexy, kitsch 60’s vibe of the original, I’m still looking forward to checking the movie out on it’s release. I just got my hands on Appleseed Deus Ex and Vexville (stay tuned to this channel for reviews), two Japanese CGI movies that rely heavily on game aesthetics, but Speed Racer looks like the one that could push that vibe into the mainstream, Hollywood arena….and if you’ve had a chance to check out my fiction yet, you’ll know that’s something I’m interested in.
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