Two more reviews, to be published in the Twin Cities Anime And Manga
Society newsletter.
All that follows is just my opinion, of course. :)
-Richard
Battle Athletes
TV Episodes 1&2
Distributed by Pioneer
75 Minutes copyright 1998
RICHARD'S REVIEW: Anime and the Olympics *can* mix
In 2015, war between two unnamed powers draws to a climax. Tokyo, as is
its wont, gets destroyed, along with pretty much the rest of the world.
The survivors put aside their differences and rebuild civilization.
Flash-forward: 3045.
Human civilization has been restored. An alien race, as is their wont,
has been fighting a war with humanity for centuries. Both sides grow
tired of the endless conflict, and decide to end the war in the only
reasonable way possible: by having a select member from each side
compete in a decathlon (which, I suppose, is a step up from a game of
tag). The human wins. Peace reigns. Enthused by this unexpected
success against a race that looked athletically superior, humanity
adopts a new goal: to develop the human athlete to the highest form
possible. The development of these athletes becomes the almost-sole
focus of civilization.
Flash-forward: 3996. (This all occurs in the first five minutes of the
anime, btw.)
In orbit around Earth lies the University Satellite, a place for the
best of humanity's athletes to train and perfect themselves and prepare
for the yearly Great Competition, where the overall winner is dubbed the
Cosmic Beauty. It is in this world where we meet Kanzaki Akari,
daughter of a former Cosmic Beauty, young student just entering
University Satellite and Our Heroine.
Akari meets her roommates, Anna Respighi and Kris Christopher, in the
course of dealing with a particularly nasty upperclassman who is trying
a preemptive strike against a potential new threat. Thus is a new team
born.
We also meet other characters - scary opponents, helpful upperclassmen,
the obligatory cat-girl, and a strange but powerful headmaster.
The first episode is mostly introduction; there are quite a few
characters in this series, and it's difficult to get a grasp on many of
the minor characters in the first two episodes.
There's nice animation for television; it's great to see how the bar has
been raised with each passing year. I loved the scene which showed
falling cherry blossoms against a backdrop of space.
The opening theme is uninspiring, the theme just plain boring. The
background music, while not bad, wasn't captivating either.
The series balances serious moments with athletic battles and the
occasional light moment. Mostly it's about Akari's struggles to adapt
to her new environment, and her determination to do more than just
succeed, but to excel. Then there are the standard - but effective -
team-bonding exercises as the disparate personalities, led by Kris,
learn to work together.
I have to admit, I had no interest in this title (Battle Athletes?
C'mon!) until it was recommended to me by an acquaintance. I'm a bit of
a sucker for stories that focus on characters and their development, so
this anime appealed to me. Not a tremendously good story - at least,
not so far - but satisfying. I'd give it a qualified recommendation.
Sakura Diaries
TV Episodes 1-4
Richard's Review: Bras Don't Substitute For A Good Story
I must say this about Sakura Diaries: it's got a *great* opening song.
Soft, sweet, and romantic. Probably my favorite anime song of all time.
The opening animation begins with a high school girl wearing a bra and
brushing her hair in front of a mirror. Sets the tone for the series
nicely.
The story soon begins. Tonma is a tall, young, handsome country boy
trying to get into a Tokyo university. He's studying for entrance exams
in a hotel room. There's a knock on the door.
Enter Urara.
She positions herself as a prostitute. There follow lots of close-ups
of her scantily clad anatomy. She takes off her clothes and waits for
Tonma in bed. After much agonizing, in which his virginity is revealed,
Tonma throws her out of his hotel room.
The perspective switches to Urara, who turns out to be his cousin. They
met only once, six years previously. She feels that they are fated to
fall in love. (One might question her tactics, but then we'd have a
very different anime.)
Tonma, meanwhile, meets a new woman also trying to get into college by
the name of Mieko. Very beautiful, charming, and evidently quite taken
with Tonma.
Thus begins the triangle. Urara loves Tonma who loves Mieko who seems
to love Tonma. Then things get complicated.
Mieko gets into the college. Tonma doesn't. He's devastated. But
because he doesn't want to lose his chance at Mieko so he pretends like
he got in. Urara soon sees through this deception. By an improbable
coincidence, she also finds out that Mieko is heavily involved with
someone else.
Tonma decides on a plan to stay in Tokyo and try to pretend to be in
college so he can be Mieko's friend - and more. He contrives to stay
with at his uncle's Tokyo apartment, and finally finds out that Urara
(who has been dogging his steps) is his cousin. She serves him dinner
covered only in an apron, which leads to lots more fanservice.
They end up going to exam school together. He continues to hang around
the university, still after Mieko. Urara doesn't tell him what she
knows about Mieko.
This all seems misogynistic to me. One woman thinks that the only way
to attract a man is by displaying her naked body whenever possible; the
other manipulates his emotions for the sheer thrill of it. It's very
hard to feel sympathy for either character. Or perhaps I *can* feel
sorry for them; they were designed by people who don't seem to have a
well-rounded view of women.
By the end of episode four, Tonma decides he needs to have sex with
Urara in order to become "experienced" enough for Mieko. And Urara has
determined that she needs to have sex with Tonma in order to show him
exactly how much she loves him. What happens in episode five? I don't
know. And I'm not certain I want to know. This is not my idea of a
compelling romance.
In the end, all I can say about Sakura Diaries is that if you're into
fanservice without wanting it to be too hard core, then this is the
anime for you. If you want a good romantic story or light-hearted
humor, look elsewhere.