E’s Otherwise

Genre: Drama/Action
Published: 2003 (JP) 2006 (US)
Episodes: 26
Languages: Japanese/English
“Movie” Rating: PG-13

From sci-fi to ecchi to drama. E’s Otherwise (the E standing for Esper, aka, psychics) is another 2 season series that leaves much to be desired at the ending. You might find that’s a trend with anime, and I won’t really tire of pointing it out. I’m fine with some ambiguity to a movie or TV show, though most TV series don’t need to worry about following a manga plot or worrying about overarching plots weighed against a budget quite like an anime.

I’m skipping to the end though, and ranting. Right then, the meat of the series. E’s is sort of sci-fi in the sense that it’s seemingly set in some sort of future. 12 large mega-corporations rule the world, and the main character Kai wakes up in a tower controlled by one of those corporations. Kai and a team of other psychics are trained to fight with their powers to protect themselves, as well as to deal with rogue psychics and guerrilla’s out to harm them.

Where the plot goes from there doesn’t hold a ton of surprise, at least not if you’re used to dramatic anime. There are certainly plenty of twists to be found, from manipulation to secret powers to secret identities. There ARE some genuine surprises, but as with many 2 season anime, there are a lot more questions than answers, and a lot of reveals that are given and forgotten, never to be developed or touched on again. There’s few filler episodes, and I felt like for the number of episodes they tried to fit in a lot. Unfortunately, it ended up being too much stuff in too little a space.

I would note about the lack of a lot of character development, but it’s hard to fault something that they seemed to just leave off rather than start and leave undone. Since we’re dealing with a sort of false memory scenario, the very little back story given for a lot of the main characters just doesn’t matter, and what’s given is hardly more than a few lines to show they used to be younger and did things.

The entire series seems to lack so much, yet have so much to it. From all I’ve talked about missing, one might think it’d have nothing to stand on, but in a way that’s what gives it ground. Lacking a ton of back story, lacking deep character development, we’re left to merely ride along and react as things happen. The action goes quicker since there’s less standing around going over the past, and it happens quite often too, especially near the end.

A lot of the presentation in E’s is average. The music is fine, the graphics are so-so, the voice acting is decent (I swear one of the hackers sounds like he could be Christopher Walken’s son or something). The disc’s have very few extra’s to them, though I never really felt like I was missing out on much concept art or such for the series. E’s is old enough and unknown enough that if you look around you can find it cheap, being sold as low as around $15 from what I’ve seen, which is cheaper than Ah My Buddha or Lost Universe.

It’s hard fully recommending E’s, for all the reasons I’ve stated. If you’re the sort that wants a deep world, you’ll find little. If you can’t live with loose ends and unanswered questions, E’s will drive you crazy. I’m hardly saying I like the series lacking in both of those areas. Yet… I still recommend it in the end. It’s got some interesting plot twists, fast pacing, and plenty of action. It won’t change your life, but it should entertain you for a while.

 

Ah! My Buddha

Genre: Romantic Comedy/Harem
Published: 2005-2006 (JP) 2009 (US)
Episodes: 24 + 2 extra
Languages: Japanese/English
“Movie” Rating: R

For those of you familiar with the Ah! My Goddess series (both of them), no, you aren’t seeing things. The title is a direct parody of the other series, but don’t be fooled into thinking there’s deep similarities. Yes, both feature a guy surrounded by girls, they’re both harem anime at their hearts. Ah! My Goddess takes the path of true love and the trials surrounding it, making for a series that is set apart. Ah! My Buddha, on the other hand, holds no higher pretext.

On the contrary, Ah My Buddha was rating for adults when it was shown in Japan for a reason. No, it’s not a hentai, get your mind out of the gutter… and then put it right back in. There is no shame in the series for its love of breasts, panties, and shots of both, no matter what’s going on. That isn’t to say it’s all T&A. There IS an actual plot, and when the series gets serious, it’s not bad. The animation is well done, the spirits are scary enough in their own way, and the voice acting does a good enough job. It all falls back to perversion though.

It’s not hard to understand why when you realize the main character (Ikkou) plot device revolves around his “special powers” being activated by arousal, usually involving a quick flashing or a face to the breasts. The series is built on Ikkou’s special power, so there’s obviously no question the producers intentions. Ah My Buddha tries to focus on character development for Ikkou, for the girls around him, as well as of Buddhism in general, but none of it is enough to really invest you into any of the cast.

Then again, maybe you’re not SUPPOSED to be invested. Ah My Buddha ends inconclusively, with the status quo trumping actual development, and in a way it fits. The anime isn’t breaking new ground in its intentions, and in that sense it plays to its target audience. Want an anime with busty girls flashing, intentionally or not? You get that, in plenty.

All that leads to a series I know I’ll likely forget sooner rather than later. It’s not bad, not at all. Okay, maybe the world doesn’t need anymore harem anime with needless sexist pandering, but as far as anime like this go, there’ve been worse. I’ve seen it for as low as $16, not a surprise from it’s Rare Flix roots. If you’re in the mood for a slapsticky ecchi that actually has a somewhat interesting plot, you could do a lot worse. Just don’t go in expecting Shakespeare, or decency.

 

Lost Universe

Genre: Space/Adventure
Published: 1998 (JP) 2003 (US)
Episodes: 26
Languages: Japanese/English
“Movie” Rating: PG

Let me make one thing clear to start and get it out of the way; the English dubbing of Lost Universe is atrocious. It is, of course, an older anime, brought to the US on a low budget back in the days when the English voice acting market was still finding its legs in my opinion. Even with that however, it’s just… just painful. Larissa Wolcott as Millie does a fine job, and there ARE a few other bit parts that go just fine. Still, most of the series revolves around Kain Blueriver and the AI of his spaceship, Canal. Maybe Kain’s voice was supposed to constantly break and wobble when he got excited. Maybe Canal’s voice actress was told to sound completely lifeless half the time, and like a harpy when she laughed. Maybe the Japanese voice actors sounded just as bad. Maybe. It’s still abysmal.

Let’s set that aside then, as hard as it may be. Lost Universe is a series set in a sci-fi world where mankind lives on many different worlds and can span the galaxies through space travel. The “Lost” in Lost Universe comes from “Lost Ships”, powerful, ancient machines that are thought to be technology leftover from ancient alien civilizations. The utter superiority of the Lost Ships over normal spaceship technology drives the main plot later on. To start however, we’re just given one, piloted by a trouble contractor, Kain Blueriver (pretty much a private investigator/mercenary of sorts).

The first half of Lost Universe spends much of its time revolving around Kain, Millie (who sometimes tags along and sometimes gets left behind), and Canal. If any part of the series “shines”, it’s the first half. While there’s hardly anything revolutionary, Kain taking up jobs gave the studio ample excuse to give different set pieces for the characters to be put in, as well as go from comedy to horror to drama from one episode to the next. It also allows a different cast of support characters to rotate through, even with some staying on for the long run. Some of the ideas and characters are unique enough to hold some interest.

Sadly, the main plot starts kicking in just like it’s supposed to by the midpoint. I say sadly because that main plot starts focusing more on Kain’s past, Canal’s mysteries, and the main villains. None of them are engaging, none of them are interesting, and as I already stated, all of them sound so bad it’s distracting. Kane’s history with his Grandmother and Canal gets special focus, sort of, which is supposed to set up the ways he resolves the dramatic climax at the end. I barely remember it.

Maybe I missed a gem of a plot from all the distractions, but I doubt it. The hand drawn animation certainly brings one back, but it doesn’t hold up well. The music is forgettable too, as are disc extra’s. I ended up taking a long pause break in the anime because I lost interest, and I ended up watching the end alone since my brother refused to sit through the rest. The last few episodes were plodded through for laughing at the plot and voice acting, at what was supposed to be the most dramatic part.

Lost Universe is available in a thinpak collection, running for as low as $22 for the entire series. From a purely economical standpoint, it’s a fine deal. From the standpoint of someone wanting anime on a budget, you’ll find few better. There’s a reason for the price though, just as there’s a reason most people likely never heard of the series, or know nothing of it. Lost Universe is a series that teeters on the line between bad funny and bad in the literal sense. It doesn’t offend me or insult me, it merely puts me to a troubled dull sleep.

Burn in Galactic Fire!
Antispiral-kun