X-Men Anime Review

X-Men
Sony Pictures
Complete Collection - 2 discs
287 mins. - 12 episodes
$14.99 (2012)
$14.99 (2012) Parts 1-2/ea.
ISBN 043396393295
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Fuminori Kizaki
Studio - Madhouse

Synopsis: Professor Charles Xavier founded a school to teach young mutants how to control their powers and his dream is to unite mutantkind with humanity in peaceful coexistence.  The dream is not yet a reality as humans fear and hate mutants because of their incredible powers.  Xavier created the X-Men from his first class of students as a response team to help those mutants in danger and oppose mutants who wish to harm humanity.  The team has operated for several years and the roster of active members has changed many times.  Xavier himself is the world's most powerful telepath.

The X-Men team - from left to right: Wolverine, Cyclops, Phoenix,
Professor X (seated), Storm, and Beast

The current field team is:

• Cyclops - Scott Summers can project powerful optic blasts, but they are only held in check by his special ruby-quartz visor.  The epitome of a cool-headed, tactical leader.  He and Jean Grey are sweethearts since their school days at Xavier's
• Phoenix - Jean Grey is an omega-level psychic with powerful telepathic and telekinetic abilities.  She is strong-willed and kind.  She and Scott Summers are sweethearts since their school days at Xavier's
• Beast - Hank McCoy is a walking contradiction.  His mutation gives him a fearsome appearance yet he possesses a vast intellect and gentle heart.  Undergoing a secondary mutation later in life his power levels increased and his appearance became more feline
• Storm - Ororo Munroe lost her parents in tragic accident when she was young.  She grew up on the mean streets of Cairo as a thief until her mutant weather-controlling abilities manifested.  Charles Xavier found her being worshiped as a weather goddess in Africa
• Wolverine - An enigmatic brawler with adamantium-laced skeleton, six massive claws which can extend from his forearms, and a near-instantaneous healing power.  He cuts first and asks questions later.  Holds an unrequited love for Jean Grey

The two mutant lovebirds - Jean Grey and Scott Summers

We begin the story with a terrifying meltdown of Jean Grey's powers.  She has been manipulated by Mastermind, the leader of the rogue Inner Circle and she has become a danger to the world.  The X-Men try to bring her back under control, but fail utterly.  Cyclops catches a glimpse of Emma Frost, the Inner Circle's White Queen before Jean destroys herself to save the world.  Jean's death causes the X-Men to disband.

Jean Grey loses control of her Phoenix powers and becomes Dark Phoenix

Fast forward one year and a crisis in Japan centering around mutant powers rallies Professor X to bring the team back together.  He keeps seeing strange psychic visions and there exists a psychic dead zone where mutant-detecting technology cannot penetrate.  Each team member is glad to come back except Cyclops who has been living near the site of Jean Grey's death.  He grudgingly rejoins the team and puts aside his depression for the greater good. 

"Hasn't Scott been a total jerkwad since Jean died?"  "Yeah, I didn't think
the stick could go up any farther."  "Good one, Wolverine!" "Thanks,
Beast!"  "Guys.  I'm standing right here."

The X-Men journey to Japan to investigate the area and discover mutants have been disappearing.  They encounter a terrorist group called the U-Men who despise mutants and harvest their organs for research.  The team battles the cyborg U-Men and breaks into their facility.  Within they find a young mutant named Hisako Ichiki and are shocked to also find Emma Frost!  She has quit the Inner Circle and has become a mutant counselor helping young mutants with their powers.  

The X-Men discover Emma Frost protecting a young mutant.  Apparently
it's totally normal for mutant educators to wear outfits like hers.

Cyclops blames Emma for Jean's death and is instantly hostile towards her.  The rest of the team gives her the benefit of the doubt once they see Hisako's trust in Emma.  Hisako is enrolled at Xavier's and she is trained by the X-Men to use her power to project psionic-armor.  Emma stays on with the team to help.

The team heads back to Japan to reinvestigate the area

Eventually they return to Japan after uncovering a strange virus which causes mutant powers to overload.  They suspect the U-Men are behind it, but find another research facility run by Yui Sasaki, former head of the mutant school Hisako went to as a child.  Something doesn't feel right about the facility and Yui appears to be overly secretive.  What is her mysterious past with Professor X?  Can the X-Men discover the secret before the world is put in danger?  Can Hisako make it as a rookie X-Man?

Hisako and Emma Frost join the X-Men

Pros: Great character designs for the X-Men, visually slick anime rendition of old favorites, overall voice acting is decent, action is pretty intense and well-done, Emma Frost is totally hot, nice cameos of mutants around the world (Nightcrawler, Archangel to name a few)

Wolverine prepares to inflict some damage

Cons: Story pacing was too slow, ending was predictable, bad guys were pretty generic, Wolverine's battle on the Blackbird in mid-air was totally impossible, pricing for complete series is the same as each of the volumes ($14.99) - WTF!?, portrayal of Storm was off - her voice and personality show no trace of her African roots, opening/ending theme music was overly dramatic

Storm manifests lightning to protect Hisako and Emma Frost

Mike Tells It Straight: I love anime and I love the X-Men = I should love the X-Men anime, right?  I had really high hopes going into watching the anime version of the X-Men and my hopes soared even higher when I saw Warren Ellis credited as writer in the opening credits.  Ellis is a renowned comic book writer and has written the X-Men on several occasions.  I found the story in X-Men to be very typical Ellis fare in the vein of Astonishing X-Men Vol. 5: Ghost Box and Astonishing X-Men Vol. 6: Exogenetic.  These two stories are pretty good modern X-Men fare, but not particularly memorable.  Unfortunately the same thing happens to this anime version.  Ellis usually gives us forward-thinking science fiction and snarky dialogue for the protagonists, but instead we get a fairly dumbed-down plot.

Cyclops unleashes his optic blast

The character designs are a cross between the movie versions and Grant Morrison's New X-Men.  Visually the anime version is slick and the mutants have never looked better.  The action was all that I had hoped for - intense, fluid, and well-choreographed.  Voice actors were well-chosen (except for Storm).  Music was really bland and the opening/ending themes were completely lackluster (overly dramatic orchestra pieces).

Hisako powers up her psionic armor for battle

Overall I was pleased with the visuals and action, but the story was drawn out and kinda boring.  It would have been better if the Japanese creators were given free reign to re-imagine the X-Men as they saw fit.  Having Ellis as concept writer seems like a good idea yet I suspect it kept the story confined to the typical American expectations.  They could have taken the story in so many different directions and pulled in the major villains - Magneto, Sentinels, or the Dark Phoenix (instead of the teaser we get at the beginning when Jean Grey's powers overload).  Anime Sentinels could be absolutely dark and twisted!

We get a brief cameo of everyone's favorite Archangel

The ending hints at a sequel with Magneto breaking out of prison and I hope we can see this happen.  I liked seeing the X-Men in highly detailed adventures with great character designs and a somewhat interesting story.  Marvel's pricing scheme for the complete series vs. the two separate volumes is whacked - $14.99 for the complete set, but now they're offering two separate volumes at the same $14.99 price?  Why not $9.99 and they'll still make an extra $5 on people who buy both volumes?  I would recommend this series if you like the X-Men - they look good in the anime format and I absolutely love that Marvel tried this out with their characters.  Don't expect to have your mind blown.

TO BUY and Recommendations:

The Sky Crawlers Anime Movie Review

The Sky Crawlers
Sony Pictures
Movie - 121 mins. - 1 disc
$34.95 (2009) Blu-Ray
$27.96 (2009)
ISBN 043396307520
Japanese/English Audio
English/French/Spanish Subtitles
Director - Mamoru Oshii
Studio - Production I.G

Synopsis: Yuichi Kannami is a fighter pilot reassigned to the base at Area 262 as a replacement for another pilot who died recently.  The plane he is assigned belonged to the deceased pilot, but its in perfect condition. Being curious as to what happened to the pilot he is replacing, Yuichi attempts to discover the pilot's cause of death from the base's commanding officer, Suito Kusanagi.  She appears to be a young woman and coldly brushes off his questions.

Yuichi Kannami arrives at Area 262

Three other pilots are stationed at the base - Aizu Yudagawa, Yuriyuki Shinota, and Naofumi Tokino.  Yuichi attempts to fit in, but only manages to befriend the reckless Naofumi.  The two bond during a trip to the nearby whorehouse where one of the escorts reveals her past relationship with the man Yuichi replaced, Jinro Kuita.  

Suito Kusanagi and Yuichi Kannami

Amidst the endless sorties and downtime ennui, Yuichi grapples with a disturbing mystery as puzzle pieces slowly reveal themselves in a greater picture.  He is one of the Kildren, a group of people who never age and can only die by being killed.  It appears they are exclusively fighter pilots in a neverending aerial war fought by rival corporations.  The young CO, Suito, is also a pilot and Kildren, but she has lived long enough to begin questioning the order of things.  A young girl visits the base - is it Suito's daughter?  Who could the father be?  Why is Yuichi irresistibly drawn to Suito despite her cold demeanor?

Yuichi and Naofumi pilot two push-prop planes on a sortie

The greatest mystery is what happened to Yuichi's predecessor, but will learning the cause of his death result in Yuichi's similar demise?  Something is not right in the war and on the base.  What is the origin of the Kildren and how does their existence fit into the larger whole of society?  The other side's ace pilot, "The Teacher", appears in the combat theater - will Yuichi and the pilots of Area 262 survive long enough to discover the cause for their predetermined existences? 

Yuichi learns about Jinro from a prostitute

Pros: Excellent computer graphics melded with seemingly hand-drawn animation, good soundtrack, suitably vague characterizations, captivating mystery by end of film, lots of extras, hardcore final dogfight, has received a lot of critical praise (won awards at the Venice and Sitges film festivals), the 'ah-ha!' moment when I was reminded of George Orwell's book 1984

Yuichi and crew participate in a massive aerial battle

Cons: Agonizingly slow-paced at times, characters (particularly Yuichi and Suito) have zero personalities, final scene with "The Teacher" was unsatisfying (guess that was the point), Kildren are not really explained until much later in the film, character facial designs are somewhat generic/simple

Yuichi and Suito have dinner and talk about existentialism

Mike Tells It Straight: Based on the first book in the novel series by Hiroshi Mori.  The pace of this film is incredibly slow, but it really works to build up the mystery of the Kildren and Yuichi's personal dilemma.  I liked the synergy between the computer graphics and traditional character animation - the two didn't noticeably clash.  The planes and dogfights were highly detailed CGI (completely obvious and unnatural), and while not perfect by any means they were much better than a score of other anime which attempt to do the same.

Naofumi and Yuichi make plans to hit the town before the big battle

By the end of the movie the great mystery is revealed and it all makes sense - the slow pace, Yuichi's bland personality, and a score of subtle atmospheric hints.  Watching the film I had a great 'ah-ha!' moment when I realized the connection between George Orwell's book 1984 about a totalitarian society where independent thought is a crime, information is suppressed by an all-powerful government (to the extent even history is rewritten constantly to suit the current party objectives), and nations are perpetually at war causing all sorts of food rationing/resource shortages.  Loved that book!

This image (w/fish-eye lens) pretty much sums up the whole film

If you have the patience and are looking for a vague, psychological mystery then The Sky Crawlers is your anime film.  Overall, I enjoyed it quite a bit, but was scratching my head half the time and have to admit it took me three sittings to finish watching it.  

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Anime Review

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Sony Pictures
Movie - 2 discs
101 minutes
$26.96 (2006)
$49.95 (2007) Limited Edition
$38.96 (2009) Blu-Ray
ISBN 043396118966
Japanese/English Audio - English/ French/Spanish/Portuguese/Korean/
Thai/Mandarin/Cantonese Subtitles
Director - Tetsuya Nomura
Studio - Square Enix

Synopsis: It's been two years since Cloud Strife and his band of fighters were able to defeat Sephiroth and stop him from destroying all life on the planet by summoning a catastrophic meteor.  Sephiroth died in the battle and the group managed to cast the spell "Holy" to counteract "Meteor", but the spell was not strong enough to save the day.  The planet itself fought back by sending the Lifestream (the coexistent life energy of all beings on the planet) to halt "Meteor" and preserve itself.

Cloud visits his old Buster Sword and reminisces about the past

After the final confrontation the group has begun picking up the pieces of their lives.  Cloud lives with Tifa and they care for Barret's adopted daughter Marlene along with an orphan boy named Wenzel.  Tifa is broken-hearted because Cloud still holds a torch for the deceased Aerith (who died at the hands of Sephiroth before she could fully complete the spell "Holy").  Cloud runs a delivery service and the group still remains in touch.

Yazoo, Kadaj and Loz are searching for Jenova's remains

The Lifestream has been acting strangely and a debilitating disease has spread called Geostigma.  Despite many efforts it has no known cure and is currently ravaging the population.  En route to a meeting with the Turks (former elite soldiers from Shinra, the corrupt corporation which harnessed the Lifestream to establish a stranglehold on cheap energy supply), Cloud is attacked by three men bearing a striking resemblance to Sephiroth.  They are incredibly powerful and seeking their "mother" (presumably Jenova, the extraterrestrial lifeform used to genetically create Sephiroth).

Tifa fights Loz in an old abandoned church

Many think Geostigma is the planet's retribution against those who would exploit the Lifestream, but it's clear the three men plan to resurrect Sephiroth.  Cloud has become a loner, but the band has to get back together in order to save the human race.  We'll see all of our old favorites, but will their combined power be enough this time?  Will Geostigma consume the population just in time for Sephiroth's return?  What happened to all that Materia from the final battle?  Can Cloud find his true memories and move past the devastating loss in his life (Aerith)?

Cloud is ready for a final showdown

Pros: Stunning CG (computer-generated) visuals - literally everything has a lush texture, nostalgia overload at seeing all of the FFVII characters again, superb character redesigns, sequel to original FFVII game which was a critical (almost historical) success for video game console RPGs (role-playing games), eye-popping fight scenes, great musical score - especially the theme, nice love triangle resolution with Cloud/Aerith/Tifa, additional scenes in Blu-Ray edition + even better HD visuals, actual FFVII story scenes included to recap events of the game (for the most part), Sephiroth!

The gang's all here - Yuffie, Cid, Tifa, Vincent, and Barret

Cons: Plot is relatively simple yet horribly convoluted by bad writing/dialogue, the Turks get more screen-time than 90% of the group members, the three "Sephiroth" clones are really annoying, barely any emotional depth to the characters (yeah, they're CG, but c'mon!), CG is highly detailed yet surprisingly crude in terms of character movements and depicting emotions (facial expressions primarily, but also body language)

The three clones of Sephiroth summon Bahamut!

Mike Tells It Straight: I spent at least 100 hours playing Final Fantasy VII during college and was the first in my crowded apartment to actually finish the game.  It was a memorable experience back in late 1997 and FFVII will stand as one of my favorite video game experiences (in front of the original Final Fantasy and close behind the Tekken franchise - a tale for another review) while I still had time to play video games.  The characters were awesome, the story was interesting with a key death of a main character (Aerith), amazing CG cut story scenes, and the game-play was ground-breaking (Materia, Summoning, optional attributes, side games).  FFVII will always have a soft spot in my heart.

Red XIII - the Samuel L. Jackson of Final Fantasy VII

When Square Enix put out the first fully-rendered, CG Final Fantasy film (The Spirits Within) I was disappointed to see the plot was completely unrelated to any previous FF game.  It never resonated with me.  I guess they got the hint as Advent Children is a direct sequel to FFVII!  Score one for Square Enix.

Sephiroth!

It was great seeing all of the old characters stunningly redesigned with incredible detail and returning in an interesting story premise.  Cloud's motorbike and wide array of swords were better than anything I expected.  The fight scenes were fast and epic - timed perfectly with slow motion cuts amid lightning fast exchanges.  The music added audio texture to an already abundant visual palette.  The writers resolve the Cloud/Aerith/Tifa love triangle in a satisfactory way.

Does Aerith return from the dead!?

The story premise seems promising as it starts with a real crisis (Geostigma killing people), but it quickly falls apart as we jump from one action scene to the next.  Square's fully-rendered CG scenes were awe-inspiring back in 1997 and we all thought a full-length CG movie would be the best thing ever, but today we expect more from our CG.  Sadly, the character motions and 'acting' are horribly stiff and awkward in this film.

The haunted eyes of a former SOLDIER

If you loved FFVII back in the day or came to it later - Advent Children is a great experience.  Those with no prior contact to the original game are likely to be lost at the significance/backstory of most characters - you've got to have some familiarity with FFVII because this film is a sequel.  The slick visuals and exciting action scenes are impressive, but the story and CG character 'acting' are terrible.  After my awe at the rich CG wore off and I focused more on the story it was clear the plot sucked.  Definitely a visual feast and that fact alone makes this film worth checking out, but the poorly executed story really killed any urge for repeat viewings.

TO BUY and Recommendations: