Oni Market #20: Higashi no Eden

It’s been a while and I still have not had the chance to edit the required quota of photos, plus all that ugly business at Anime.gr kind of took the fun out of it for a while. Oh, I will get to it eventually, but between work and all sorts of (rather useless, when you think about it carefully) information reaching me, I am seriously not in the mood at this time. At any rate, there is also much preparation to be done for COMICDOM’ s mega blog event, namely the Top 100 Comics of the ’00s (that is to say, the past decade), so the Japanese events stuff takes a back seat for the moment.

That said, I had a bit of time to catch up on some anime I have been downloading and storing with the prospect of watching “someday”. Well, Higashi no Eden (“Eden of the East”) caught my attention and has the added advantage of being limited to just 11 episodes. It tells the story of a group of NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training) trying to make their mark upon the world through their own company site and the crossing of their path with the mysterious Takizawa Akira and the Selecao (“The Chosen” in Portuguese) Project. It is an anime filled with rich dialog, conspiracy and the prevalent feeling that something is very wrong with Japan, which only a very select few know of. I must admit that one of the things that got me hooked was the opening sequence, featuring a great song by Oasis, “Falling Down”, which I am posting below for your enjoyment.

Higashi no Eden is a Production I.G. anime (of Ghost in the Shell, Blood+ and Blue Seed fame), so the feeling of mystery, foreboding, the unknown, coupled with weird psychology, are very prevalent. Having watched up to episode 8, I am worried about the story ending with 11 but there are also two movie sequels, Eden of the East: The King of Eden and Eden of the East: Lost Paradise, so I am keeping my fingers crossed for a delivery equally engaging with the story so far.

Check it out – it’s worth the effort,

Speedgrapher

Oni Market #19: Guin Saga

If the title is not expletive enough, this Oni Market will be dedicated solely to my current fixation, a new anime called Guin Saga.

So here goes:

Item #1: Guin Saga. I have been going on and on for years how there hasn’t been a good, decent epic fantasy anime since the original Record of the Lodoss War, with the possible exception of Berserk (which was cut horribly short, compared to the manga),  Shadow Skill: Eigi (the TV series), Scrapped Princess and a feeble fix from Wellber no Monogatari. That’s… four series in over 10 years and none matched the spine-tingle of the original Lodoss OVAs (well, Shadow Skill was a close second). Before you ask, no, I do not count Slayers and all its sequels as decent fantasy. Well, it seems my petitions to the Powers That Be were finally answered, with Guin Saga.

Guin Saga Vol. 1 in English.

Based on the late (she died this May past) Kaoru Kurimoto’s character, protagonist of 126 novels and 21 side-story novels, Guin Saga tells the story of the amnesiac, leopard-headed warrior of the title. The story begins with the destruction of Parros, during which the twin heirs Linda (or Rinda – it’s Japanese after all) and Remus escape, only to be stranded in the vastly dangerous Rood Forest. There, they are found by a patrol of the enemy who killed their parents and took over their country, the Mongaul army. However, it is during their arrest that Guin first appears, while previously unconscious – and without thought, bare-handed, he crushes the patrol. Thus the adventure begins…

Guin Saga Vol. 1 in French.

Guin Saga has  – so far – all the elements that make an amazing epic: an amnesiac warrior rivaling Conan himself, stuck with magical leopard-head mask and only the faintest bits of his memory, warring nations, a land beyond which “There Be Monsters”, prophecies, intrigue, strategy and exciting heroics. Besides, magic is not of the usual bubblegum sort (“hey, I cast a Fireball”), but instead richly portrayed as cloaked in mystery, superstition and fear.  I am presently at episode 17 and the series is supposed to to end at 26 – so far I have been hooked and utterly impatient for every new episode. Music-wise, this series is an exceptional treat, seeing as the soundtrack is composed by Final Fantasy’s own Nobuo Uematsu of the Black Mages. The exception is the ending song, “Saga ~This Is My Road”, by Kanon.

Do I really need to tell you that I HIGHLY recommend this series?

I am pretty dissappointed that no one has seen fit to upload the opening sequence, small though it may be, but here is the PV.

Next up is the end song, edited with many of the backgrounds and locales of the series (yes, they look that way in the anime!).

Then, this is an AMV featuring footage from the opening and first episodes, with the TV size ending.

An audio of the full opening.

Finally, the full song performed live by Kanon can be found here. Sadly, its embedding is disabled.

That’s all for now, so go check it out!

Speedgrapher

Oni Market #18: Video Mania

Hello again everyone: just a quick pop to inform you on what’s out among the stalls of otaku culture’s little bazaar of the bizarre at the moment Here goes:

Item #1: Sakura Syndrome Cosplay (06/06/2009) slide show video by Akihisha, a.k.a. Kretinos2. Akihisha once again did a great job of editing the slide-show with music (this is his second video related to Greek cosplay - the first one is over here) and giving alively presentation of a once again great cosplay night. Enjoy!

Item #2: Canaan. A series that premiered on the 4th of July of the current year, sporting peculiar assassins, a photographer and some interestingly weird science, especially a condition called synesthesia (an actual medical condition where input from one sense mixes with the others, so to the person sufferning from the condition sounds have visible colors, images may have taste etc.), which is used in the anime as a special ability. The first episode takes place in Shanghai during the New-Year Festival. There will be some things possibly familiar to those who have watched shows such as Noir, Madlax, Black Lagoon, El Cazador de la Bruja and Bakuretsu Tenshi – however it is a possibly new and interesting approach.

Item #3: Pandora Hearts. Another episode I downloaded on a random whim. A series (by Studio XEBEC) that begins with the coming of age of heir Oz Bezarius and is surrounded by a peculiar aura of menace, past sin and toys gone bad. This series (which premiered last April) probably falls under the category of “noble-born with a terrible secret”, as did DNAngel, Metantei Loki Ragnarok, and Suteki Tantei Labyrinth. The design and animation are not anything terribly special, but the scenario and prospective cast of characters seem promising enough.

That’s all for now,

Speedgrapher