japanimation

Bagi, the Monster of Mighty Nature

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

I heard about this 1980s made-for-television anime film from a friend here on Dreamwidth; given the central role of an anthropomorphic cat-woman, I couldn’t resist. It opens in medias res with a score-old Japanese hunter, Ryosuke (or just Ryo), teaming with a South American boy, Chico (with the character costuming largely implying Mexico more than any other country), to track a monster terrorizing the countryside. Five years before, Ryo, also the son of a crime reporter father and geneticist mother, rides with his motorcycle gang and encounters a cat-woman named Bagi, a hybrid of a human and a puma.

The film relates the backstories of Bagi and Ryo’s mother, which culminates in stopping a conspiracy of scientists planning to unleash a strain of rice that can eradicate humanity, eventually returning to the present afterward. Overall, I found this a satisfying watch, even if I had to watch it in Japanese (but luckily with English subtitles), but the performances of the seiyū were superb. Given that the flaws of English voice acting are more readily apparent than those of a foreign language, this wasn’t a bad thing, and all the voices fit their respective characters. It’s on YouTube, so by all means, watch it.

In the Beginning: Stories from the Bible

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

An anime adaptation of many Old Testament stories from the Bible (and the story of Jesus’ birth) from Tezuka Productions that stemmed from a request by the Vatican of the studio during the 1980s, with studio founder Osamu Tezuka dying during its production. Among the quirks the studio injected was a mascot character, a fox named Roco; their depictions of Roco and other animals, primarily those in the Genesis portions, are endearing. There seemed to be many episodes missing from the internet, particularly the later ones. However, I still enjoyed this series, even if the English acting often seemed stiff.

Beastars, Volume 1

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Beastars, Vol. 1 (Beastars, #1)Beastars, Vol. 1 by Paru Itagaki
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ever since I watched the original Fullmetal Alchemist, Japanimation, colloquially called anime, has fascinated me, although I wouldn’t realize that most Japanese animated series derived from manga, Japan’s equivalent of comic books, with the Land of the Rising Sun, in fact, the origin point for what would ultimately become contemporary comics. One particular modern anime that would catch my attention is mangaka Paru Itagaki’s Beastars, with my first exposure being the anime adaptation, of which I have a positive impression, and, upon the official English release of all volumes, make it the honor of being my first manga.

The first volume occurs in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic animals, divided based on whether they’re herbivores or carnivores, starting with the brutal devouring by one of the latter beasts of an alpaca student at Cherryton Academy named Tem, with even more hostility consequentially arising between meat-eaters and vegetarians. Legoshi the wolf, active in the school’s drama club as a crewmember, hears news of this and gives Els the alpaca a love letter that Tem wrote before his demise, although naturally, she is wary of the lupine and fears he will devour her.

The actors in the drama club are rehearsing for a school performance of a play focused on a grim reaper named Adler, with Tem initially having a role in it. Further active in the acting troupe is the red deer Louis, who admires Legoshi’s ferocity and wants him to be a lookout for Zoe the goat, Tem’s replacement in the play. Legoshi soon has a run-in with a rabbit named Haru, with whom he seems to share a special connection, with the lapine fearing the wolf will devour her. Haru herself faces ostracization from other herbivores such as a harlequin rabbit.

That night, Legoshi fitfully sleeps, and has conflicted feelings about Haru, with his instincts insisting he devours her, although in the animanga’s world, eating meat is a crime, with school cafeterias attempting to compensate for the nutritional shortcomings carnivores consequentially face; baring fangs is also taboo for meat-eaters. Animals exemplifying the best characteristics of society receive the eponymous title of Beastar, with Louis wanting the play to send a message to the polarized society. The first manga volume ends with Legoshi meeting Haru in the school garden, and it was for me a solid experience, with some quirky extra content after the main comic.

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Ringing Bell

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Interesting story about this film: I remember before I turned ten seeing a Columbia VHS cover featuring a young lamb, but then didn’t put a name to it, although it remained well-engraved in my memory, which I would describe as semi-eidetic, being autistic. It wasn’t until around my mid-thirties that I glimpsed fanart of a sheep wearing a bell named Chirin, and a little internet research ultimately led me to the Wikipedia page of an old animated Japanese film called Ringing Bell, along with the very VHS cover I remember seeing back in my youth, so I decided to give it a watch.

The film opens with a blizzard eventually heralding the coming of spring, along which so does the lamb Chirin, who lives a peaceful life on a farm in a meadow with his mother, who is able to keep tabs on him thanks to her offspring’s eponymous bell. However, tragedy strikes, leaving Chirin alone, and feeling powerless and alone, he decides to become an apprentice to the very wolf that caused said heartbreak. He trains to become more powerful than the typical herbivore animal, hunting alongside his lupine father figure, soon reaching a situation similar to where the wolf had invaded the sheep’s barn.

Overall, Ringing Bell is one of the great tragedies of Japanimation, espousing the lesson that revenge is rarely worth it, containing excellent haunting music, some vocal, which really enhances its sadness. Originally released in Japan back in 1978, the film would see English release in 1983 and had one of the better localizations of Japanimation of the time, but there’s some awkward dialogue with reference to the Wolf King as “wolf” instead of giving him an actual name. There is also a bit of artistic merit with regard to the various animals and unresolved questions such as the absence of Chirin’s biological father, but otherwise, it’s definitely a must-watch for any Japanophile.