Avatar Finale

Nickelodeon aired the final four episodes of Avatar’s season 3 – in fact, the last episodes of Avatar – last Saturday at 8 pm. Unfortunately, I missed them because I was at the theater getting blown away by the Dark Knight, but I made it back in time for the second showing of Sozin’s Comet, the Avatar movie.

For years, I thought Avatar was a some kind of knock-off American anime. I had my reasons. Shows like Puffy Ami Yumi and Teen Titans, with its overuse of exaggerated facial expressions, hadn’t given me much hope for an American show that could use Japanese culture/anime style without being a blatant attempt at exploiting the country’s growing interest in anime.

Just before AnimeNEXT, though, I changed my mind about Avatar. My friend commented that she enjoyed watching it with her younger brother. She likes it? I thought to myself. She wasn’t particularly into anime, so I got the impression that her opinion was a sincere one. So I decided to check out Avatar.

Late at night, I watched Avatar on Nickelodeon – and then I couldn’t take it anymore. When was Zuko going to switch sides? What had happened the first time Aang firebended? And what about the eclipse – and Sozin’s Comet? The week before AnimeNEXT, I watched at least fifty Avatar episodes (or listened, rather) while I worked on artwork. I saved the most recent four episodes for the Sunday of AnimeNEXT, and then I asked myself, where was the rest?? And, thank God, it turned out that Avatar would be ending in a month or so! (Not thank God that it was ending, but thank God I wasn’t going to have to wait years for an ending.)

What first impressed me about Avatar was how honestly funny it could be. The writers didn’t milk the comic expressions, as even some anime do; the expressions came out of the characters themselves, with Sokka doing most of the actual joking, although I just loved the cabbage vendor who always seems to be in the way. The Avatar movie includes two of the most ridiculous expressions so far, as Katara and Toph’s faces practically melt when they mistake the actress Aang for the real Aang. Because the wild expressions were never overused, they were always a pleasure to see (I also recall Zuko’s flabbergasted face at seeing Sokka in a flirtatious mood with that rose in his mouth).

The fluidity of the animation in Avatar also blew me away. Sometimes I feel anime imitation shows cut down on movements to give the feel of choppy anime animation, but Avatar didn’t. Although not movie-fluid, Avatar sets a bar for fluidity in animation, particularly in the fighting sequences, and for the research that went into each element’s fighting style. According to the Wikipedia article, which really opened my eyes to how much work went into Avatar, each element’s fighting style is based on a real life one, from Tai Chi to Northern Shaolin Kung-fu. Although I have no experience in these arts, I must say that watching the show, I could believe these were real styles. They felt real in a gut sense (and also maybe from all the martial arts movies I’ve seen).

As an anime fan, I also enjoyed the references to actual anime, which came in the form of animation styles in certain dream sequences. For example, I felt some Dragonball Z vibes when Aang had that dream about facing the Fire Lord. And, in the episode where Aang had to lead rival tribes through a canyon, the second story told about the tribe rivalry looked like it was straight out of the anime Dead Leaves (I couldn’t recognize the reference for the first one).

So as not to let this go on and on – because I could go on and on about Avatar’s greatness – I was astonished at the kind of material Avatar handled, and I think years from now, the show will be regarded as a product of the Iraq War era. Story lines dealt with parents killed in war, sons going off to war, and the general price of war. What other shows aimed at younger kids – some of whom have undoubtedly lost family members to the Iraq War – discuss the pain of losing a parent to war?

This show certainly did not pander. Characters had real relationships, with actual kisses and not that they-like-each-other-but-they’ll-never-tell attitude, and real family problems. Zuko never gets a tearful reunion with his family – not even with his mother. His true father is his uncle, whom Zuko repeatedly shuns, and that’s a hard truth for a country that occasionally thrives on the vision of the perfect four-member family.

Oh, and the fact that Toph was blind was brilliant. She didn’t need any pity – she was tough as nails, a smart aleck, and one of my favorite characters.

Nickelodeon needs more well-constructed shows like this, that are smart and well-researched, with real jokes and real horror.

Warning: SPOILERS

This is not a review. More like my tearful/joyful thoughts about Avatar’s finale.

I laughed and I cried. Who wouldn’t have laughed? Even my brother, who rarely watches the show, burst out laughing when Sokka climbed into Oppa’s mouth to look for Momo, then flailed in a pool of bison spit while a serious conversation went on in the foreground.

I let a few tears slip when Zuko went to apologize to his uncle Iroh. Theirs was a painful relationship, with Zuko betraying his uncle at the end of Season 2, and then regretting it once he switched to Aang’s side. I was partly sure that Iroh was a good guy from the start, so when Zuko broke up apologizing to him, and his uncle did, too, I couldn’t help myself.

I almost screamed when it looked like Zuko had died fighting Azula – I knew he wouldn’t, but what an emotional shocker. Then I was angry because Zuko and Katara didn’t end up together. I was not really a shipper or Zutara fan, but it seemed to me that Katara was there for the girls in the audience to identify with. And, really, which girl would have preferred to end up with the 12-year-old bald Avatar as opposed to the older, albeit brooding, anti-hero Zuko? Yet who could bear to see Aang end up miserable in the end, right? It was a tough choice to make for the script-writers, and even though I don’t agree with them completely, I support their choice. They had their own vision for the characters, and the ending worked out. …but I still think Mai looks like a guy in that hairdo.

Did this movie tie up all the loose ends? Not completely. Where IS Zuko’s mother, anyway? He asks his father where she is, and we never hear the answer. Toph doesn’t seem to reunite with her parents at the end, either. And what happened after the group split at the Air Temple – what was Sokka’s dad doing all that time? Shaky…perhaps one more episode would have tied up the loose ends.

Nonetheless, the Avatar finale was satisfying, had its own twists, and was ultimately worth the many hours of marathoning that I went through. Congratulations!!

 

Con Report: AnimeNEXT 2008 – Sunday

Alas, we spent only two hours or so at the con on Sunday. My friend from New York was visiting, and she didn’t have a day pass, so we snuck her into the con briefly with my other friend’s pass so she could buy some presents for her little cousin. Otherwise, we couldn’t spend much time in the con itself. We ate at Nikko Sushi again, and then saw her off at the bus stop, because the bus’s at the con center run right to Port Authority in NYC. Then it started raining, then pouring, to the point that as we sprinting up the con center steps, I could see a thick layer of water streaming over everything. My shoes and socks were soaked.

We spent our last minute’s of the con in the dealer’s room, looking for last-minute deals. I’ve always been told that at the end of a con, the dealer’s start having sales, just so they don’t have to cart all the merchandise back home. Is this true? Because I’ve never seen it. In the last ten minutes before the dealer’s room closed, though, I bought Neji, a comic by Kaori Yuki that I’ve been casually looking for during the last…oh…five years? It’s never been translated into English but I don’t mind. I was just obsessed with reading it for so long and now I can practice my Japanese some more.

Last, I went down to the Art Show to pick up my artwork and found that 2 of my 3 pieces had sold! Hooray! Until I remembered that there was a $10 fee to actually have my work IN the show…so I only made $15…which will go toward paying expenses…….. But before I get too down, I’m just gonna remind myself that, after all, this is all part of the experience, and if I work really hard, maybe I can have my own booth in the future!! I hope…

So farewell to AnimeNEXT. I won’t be going to any cons for the next two years because I can already see that my schoolwork is going to interfere, but maybe between now and the next time I can work hard on this little business plan I have in my head…

If you have con stories, feel free to write! I’m interested in what I missed >.<

 

Con Report: AnimeNEXT 2008 – Saturday

Well, it took me a while to get to writing this one! I’ve been busy with other writing projects, so alas, the blog got kicked aside. Now watch as I attempt to piece these events together…

Saturday was my friend’s birthday, and we had a surprise party planned for her that night, so we didn’t stay for the dance at the con. The whole day I was thinking really hard what I should buy for her, but this year, I really had nothing I could think of giving her. I guess I was kinda burned-out from other projects I’d done in the past, and from working so hard on art for the past month.

And by art I mean the three pieces I entered in the Art Show! I was both excited and disappointed that the Artist Alley and Art Show were located in the basement of the con center (in actuality, there was a parking lot down there, and they just put a black rug over the concrete). I wonder if the location drew less people down there. On Friday, I had basically just checked out the market and seen the price range in the art show. I was shocked that some people were selling pieces with a minimum bid of $6 but then charging $65 for a quickbid. Now I regret not bidding on those $6 pieces… Also, maybe I have no right to give this opinion, but it seems to me that despite their artistic skill – their Photoshop experience, or their understanding of anatomy, or their grasp of color – artists in the Artist Alley have a hard time understanding composition. Hardly ever have I seen a character in an interesting pose, or a drawing that was composed in an interesting way. Granted, because this is fan art, the artists probably don’t feel like spending too much time on it, but I wanted to see more effort in the art. Otherwise, for someone like me who can already draw, there isn’t much that interests me in the artist alley, although this year some booths had some crazy and great ideas, like decals and cute little food-themed items that reminded me of ShanaLogic. At Anime Boston this year, one booth sold team T-shirts for Organization XIII, and they did look like little league jerseys in a way. I wish I’d bought one >.<

We spent some time in the manga library this year, and I’m hooked on Banana Fish. I read Vol. 1 last year and Vols. 2 and 3 this year and I’m looking forward to reading the rest. The manga follows Ash Lynx, a young gang leader in New York City, whose brother fell victim during Vietnam to a dangerous hallucinogenic drug called Banana Fish. I THINK the manga is shounen-ai or yaoi – after all, Ash was a toy for a major crime boss and something is brewing between him and a young Japanese guy that comes to report on gangs in New York – but the manga focuses much more on the way each character is trying to each his ends, whether through subtle manipulation or outright killing.

This year on the way back from lunch, I finally saw that Kakashi gf/bf duo in person! I think this is them. What a great idea: Kinko’s Copy Ninjas!

Now I will fast-forward to the masquerade because my memory fails me in regards to what we did for dinner and so on…

The Masquerade! The BEST masquerade I have ever seen at AnimeNEXT. I shall explain through compare/contrast. You see, at Anime Boston 2008, which is supposed to be a super ultra awesome convention, the masquerade was terrible – unfunny with way too many dance numbers that didn’t add up to anything. The only worthwhile skit was the last one, an exhibition one, which you can watch here:

Furthermore, last year, AnimeNEXT had some knock-out skits, but some flops, too (like the endless Hare Hare Yukai dances). This year, there was only one Hare Hare Yukai dance, and it was abbreviated, and I think I remember there only being two really dull skits… So, in the interest of sharing, here is a sampling of some of the skits. I recommend going on YouTube to check out more.

SoraX5 Dances to Dirty Pop.

CPR in Kingdom Hearts II.

Don’t ask me why Kairi has to teach it.

The Birds and the Bees. The craziest sex talk I’ve ever heard. (“Today is a good day to die!”)

Because I’m totally drooling over Avatar and can’t wait for the finale.

It wasn’t THAT funny…except for “Fire Nation!”…”Fire Nation!”…”Fire Nation!”

And last but not least – for it was possibly the best – the exhibition skit. The guy sang LIVE and had charisma and charm oozing out of him, perfect for Tamaki:

In closing, I’d like like to point out that whereas the big thing at Anime Boston was…click this to find out… the big thing that I heard on everyone’s lips at AnimeNEXT was…”Buttscratcher!” I don’t know how it started, I just heard it in the street and spent the rest of the day exchanging “Buttscratcher!” with my friend.

Whew, so overall, a laid-back con…I’ll get to Sunday in a moment…

 

Con Report: AnimeNEXT 2008 – Friday

This year my con experience was rather abbreviated and I didn’t feel quite as exhilarated as I have in the past. My favorite part this year was spending time with my friends and making a new friend.

AnimeNEXT is a good-sized con held in Secaucus, NJ. This con used to be held at a smaller hotel nearby, maybe six years ago or so, but now it’s held at the Meadowlands Expo Center. This year, the con took up TWO floors of the Expo Center, and even added the option of picking up pre-reg badges on Thursday, a great idea since the line last year was an hour or so long on Friday morning.

On Friday, I had to go to my cousin’s middle school graduation in NYC, so I didn’t get to the convention until much later in the day (around 4 pm). I went through the Dealer’s Room and the Artist’s Alley/Show (scoping out the competition a little bit, since later I put up 3 pieces in the Art Show). I didn’t think there was anything particularly special about what was in the Dealer’s Room this year (although now it was much more like a market, since it took up almost half of the first floor), so I just bought some manga in Japanese so I could practice reading hiragana and katakana. My friends met up with me a little later and we ate dinner at Nikko Sushi, which has reasonable prices and where I got a beef bento. Then we went to the Holiday Inn to use the bathroom and watch a few minutes of a fandub (best joke: a Chinese character tattoo someone shows that is translated as “Stupid gaijin I take your money”)

We went to Starbucks and I got a Shaken Iced Tea Lemonade – extremely refreshing! Particularly in the hot weather.

Rentrer en Soi performed at the convention, and I’d like to offer a few tips to people looking to see bands at AnimeNEXT. For the past few years, the band has appeared in the large Panel 1 room. The seats in the center are cleared away so the crowd can move in, and people can also stand in the seats. If you’re not that interested in the band, don’t bother getting in line – there has always been room in the past to not only get into Panel 1 but also sneak your way toward the front. Unfortunately, if you’re short like me, being stuck in the crowd is a pain because there are so many tall people around.

So, since my friend and I were with someone who wasn’t particularly interested in the concert – and neither were we – we dropped in after the show had started (surprisingly, it started on time!! and no opening band). Immediately, I was amazed by the crowd’s silhouette against the bright white, smoky lights hitting the stage. They announced the band and the audience erupted, and when the singer came up he screamed into the microphone. Then the music started. Thankfully, Rentrer en Soi isn’t a screaming kind of band, but we only stuck around for 10 minutes or so before leaving since my friend wasn’t having fun unless she was close and our new friend really wanted to leave. I was in the middle on the decision and I sort of regret leaving because our friends who had VIP spots said it was AWESOME but…well…whatever… I’ve never listened to Rentrer en Soi so for the moment, I don’t regret missing them.

We hung around outside for a while and then we went home. It wasn’t particularly eventful, but I had a lot of fun just hanging out and talking. On the way home, the clouds that had been hanging around on the horizon finally came over us and the rain beat down hard enough that we wanted to pull over since our driver could barely see. We saw so many lightning bolts in the sky, including horizontal ones in the distance, that I started to worry we were going to have a repeat of that awful thunderstorm (actually, microburst) that hit NJ two weeks ago. We made it home safely, though, and I crashed into my bed soon enough.

 

Afro Samurai

After spending a while complaining to my friends about this anime, I thought I’d blog a bit about it so I can shut up about it.

Due to a cool thing on my school server, I was able to watch Afro Samurai recently. I’d heard some great things about it, and the visual style seemed cool, as did the fact that Samuel L. Jackson did some voice acting for it. There are only six episodes, so I was able to watch it in one sitting.

The show is about a young boy whose father is killed because he carries the #1 Headband – the headband that goes to the strongest fighter. Only the person with the #2 Headband can challenge the #1, meaning that the #2 is always fighting battles with those who want to take his headband away from him, while the #1 only has to fight with #2. This orphaned young boy tries to hunt down the #2 Headband, and then the #1, becoming Afro Samurai in the process. I liked the lack of morality in the show, in which Afro seemed to be for the continuous cycle of #1 vs. #2, whereas the #1 was determined to gain both headbands and then unlock a godlike power to, I think, bring peace or something to the world.

Nice concept, but I hated watching this show. Afro is accompanied by a stereotypical black guy who doesn’t know when to shut up, who’s always yelling at Afro not to get into fights. Though they explain why he’s tagging along by the end of the anime, I’d already begun to suspect it, and it wasn’t worth putting up with him just for that twist. He clutters up everything, when maybe the show would have been more fun if there was NO ONE accompanying Afro, and Afro wouldn’t even have to talk; it’d be like Samurai Jack. Afro himself isn’t a very likable character, always telling others to shut up or acting oh-so-cool. I just couldn’t sympathize with him unless he was a kid and getting the shit kicked out of him.

I didn’t care for the music, maybe because it’s just not my style. Or the sex, maybe because it was contrived and RIDICULOUS. That whole reverse Nightingale syndrome is quite an overdone cliché; caring for someone does not equal loving them, please. I felt like the anime thought it could get away with stupid things around me.

In short, this was a bit of a nightmare for me, and I only watched it the whole way through just to make sure I could give it a fair chance, because so many had been praising it. I recommend that if you’re interested in action anime, you look somewhere else, because though this has action, it’ll leave a bad taste in your mouth, and you’ll wonder if you could have gotten some kick-ass fighting AND some likable characters.

 

What I HATE…

You know that punch to the gut guys use in anime to knock out girls? WTF. I just saw it done on ep. 24 of Gungrave. I mean, I love Brandon/Grave, but come on – what a way to end the scene where Mika confesses that she loves him. Soooo dumb. Can you really knock someone out with a punch like that, and not do some internal damage? I’m honestly curious. Ashitaka did it, too, in Princess Mononoke, now that I think about it. Lots of head trauma done to girls, too, like when Sasuke says goodbye to Sakura. Guys end their conversations with violence, not words.

 

Song of the Day #8

A Far Cry
from the Escaflowne OST

Maybe I’m completely off base in thinking that anime today doesn’t have music as good as it used to. In fact, I probably I am, because I was exposed to such a limited amount of anime when I first got into it (1998?), and when the market was small and it was easy to be exposed to good anime – like Escaflowne and Trigun – whereas today the range of anime is goes from horrible, I-want-my-money-back to superb, I’m-glad-I-lived-to-see-that. Thus, perhaps my true impression is that it’s hard to find the good anime OSTs because there are so many. And even some that have good songs also have bad ones on them. For example, I love Gackt’s ending theme for Texhnolyze, but that’s all I love about the soundtrack.

Now, in the good old days, we had priceless soundtracks like the Trigun OSTs, which still amaze me (and even the ending theme finally won me over), and of course Yoko Kanno’s gold. I’ve heard that the Escaflowne OSTs rip off Carmina Burana – which made me buy the CD for Carmina Burana to see for myself, and I loved it – but I can’t say for sure how much is ripped of Carmina Burana; to me, some songs just seem similar.

In any case, A Far Cry is a lyrical, sad song, with the sound of distant thunder opening the beginning (drums, I assume) and the doleful cello carrying the nostalgic, sometimes pained melody line. It’s beautiful, and I can’t even remember what scenes this song was played in. That’s the beauty of it – an anime song that doesn’t require watching the anime to appreciate it.

Perfect to play on a rainy day if you feel like staying mellow and even brooding a bit, although it has some lighter touches, as when some piano keys clink away as if in conversation, going up octaves as they answer each other. I wish there were words to this, but it doesn’t really need any.

Also, if you like A Far Cry, I recommend listening to B.T. from .hack//SIGN; the violin is exquisite.

Note: When I mention an instrument, there is a chance it might be synthesized. But it sounds real to me!

 

Akira

I just re-watched the second half of Akira after so many years, and I noticed just how many similarities there are between it and other anime/movies.

For example, when Kaneda gets trapped against the growing mass that is Tetsuo, tendrils push against his face – just as when San gets trapped against the demon-possessed boar in Princess Mononoke.

And the little kids definitely reminded me of Advent Children, what with the strange-acting little kids. And Akira reminded me of Jenova, especially because he was in frozen pieces. Which would make Tetsuo kind of like Kadaj. They both end up turning into light, don’t they?

And of course, Kanye West’s Stronger video echoes Akira, except for the pretty girls (sorry, but Kei isn’t up to par):

One of the biggest criticisms against his movie is that there is no character development. For example, Kaneda – the supposed hero – is a cocky guy at the beginning and at the end. There is a moment, right after the pinprick of light vanishes in his hands, when he’s facing away from Kei and the viewer, that I thought he might have changed. But then when he turns around, there’s nothing but serenity and even happiness in his face. The movie could have really said something about friendship by having Kaneda have some reaction to Tetsuo’s death (?), especially since Kaneda was a regular guy (not necessarily ready to deal with a good friend’s death/loss). But nothing happens, which is so sad.

Also, the foreheads were annoying. No bishounen here. Just empty plains above the eyes.

 

Rahxephon Pluralitas Concentio

I just watched the Rahxephon movie, ordered from my local library network. If I’d bought it, I probably would have had to pay $29.99 or so. Not worth it. Rahxephon is definitely craptastic.

Rahxephon has been called an Evangelion copy by many, although I think it had enough different concepts to let it stand on its own (though I think both were influenced by Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End). I enjoyed the series despite the bad voice acting – in English and Japanese, in my opinion – and Ayato’s endless screaming, and the lack of chemistry between Ayato and Haruka. I believed Haruka’s side of it, but not Ayato’s (maybe because I was watching the English dub usually). The ending was sweet, though…

Pluralitas Concentio reminds me of Evangelion: Death and Rebirth in that it uses old footage and adds some new footage. However, Evangelion eventually made it to The End of Evangelion, with practically all new footage and a great, horrifying finale. Pluralitas Concentio is like the Escaflowne movie in that it, instead, retells the Rahxephon story, though not as differently as the Escaflowne movie does. Pluralitas Concentio alters a few details and some scenes, relies heavily on footage from episodes, which seem like they’re being fast-forwarded, and tries to develop the romantic subplot between Ayato and Haruka but ultimately fails, I think.

The plot is loosely pieced together with images of Ayato and Haruka getting back together and random fights with Dolems, not to mention the part where Ayato runs away and lives a few days with his friend Asahina. I think Ayato’s last moments with Asahina were some of the most poetic parts in the series, particularly Asahina’s goodbye in the form of writing with city lights. The movie cuts this up, and the scenes lose their sweetness since we’ve barely met Asahina before this happens. Also, the near-kiss between Ayato and Asahina is missing, leading one to wonder what on earth kind of relationship they have.

To be fair, Ayato and Haruka finally have sex, but it does not affect the plot whatsoever, and the scene is in itself unrealistic (it comes right after Asahina dies). Also, it comes BEFORE Ayato truly understands who Haruka is – before they even really get to know each other again. Pointless.

The end of the movie shifts the focus from Ayato and his transformation into a god, to Haruka and her love for him. The ending shows Haruka as an old woman as opposed to the new mother from the end of the series. Thus, the beginning and end of Pluralitas Concentio revolve around Haruka and Ayato. Now if only the rest of the movie had, this might have been a very good romance. But, alas, all the stuff about the Rahxephon interferes…

Okay, this is basically turning into a rant about how Pluralitas Concentio doesn’t cut it, and it doesn’t. Hopefully there is fanfiction out there that gives justice to these characters, because the series never quite made it there for me, and neither did the movie. (Before someone gets pissed, just like to remind you, I did enjoy the series and bought every DVD for $29.99 at rip-off Suncoast).

Hmm…well, lastly, the best part of Rahxephon must be the artwork – not the series animation, but the very lovely artwork on, say, the CD covers…

One thing, though. Something I’ve admired about Rahxephon has been the use of color, specifically the three primary colors – red, blue, and yellow. Red for humans, blue for Mulians, and yellow for…a happy medium? Though both humans and Mulians will wear red or blue…but Mishima Reika always wears yellow. Pluralitas Concentio pushes that to the extreme, with almost every frame containing red and blue, and occasionally yellow. In one great scene, Ayato asks Asahina what’s wrong with her, just after the camera has cut to signs saying, “Hello. How are you? I have a problem. Please help me.” Ayato and Asahina are standing in front of the French flag. Asahina is standing in front of the blue side, and Ayato is in front of the red; white space separates them. Mulian vs. Human – their total disconnect. Like I said before, Asahina and Ayato’s time together is probably the most poetic part of the anime (and, I guess, the movie).

 

Princess Tutu – Vol. 1

Normally, I’m not much of a shoujo addict… Okay, now that I think of it, I sort of am… I read Shoujo Beat and absolutely adore Mars, and lately I’ve been really into Kaleido Star, but in my defense, I was never crazy about Sailor Moon or Fushigi Yuugi. I think I like different, spunky characters. Especially Yumi Tamura’s creations. In any case, I never thought I’d be watching a show with transformations. But here I am, watching Princess Tutu! This is how it happened – I saw the following AMV and said to myself, That shit is AWESOME. Warning: Spoilers.

I bought the DVD at AnimeNEXT for $10 and another con-goer walked up next to me as I was paying and said everyone should see this AMV before watching it. Well, of course, that’s why I was buying the DVD!

Princess Tutu is about a duck named Duck (or Ahiru in Japanese, I watched it dubbed because I was fiddling with Photoshop at the same time). Duck can turn into a girl with the help of an amulet and also, with the help of the mysterious storyteller Drosselmeyer, into Princess Tutu. As a girl, Duck goes to ballet school with Mytho, a young man who has no emotions. It turns out that Mytho is actually a prince from a fairy tale (that isn’t quite a spoiler, I think it’s pretty obvious what’s going on), and Duck is Princess Tutu from the tale. In the fairy tale, the prince fought against an evil raven, but the tale’s writer (Drosselmeyer) never finished telling it because he died. Also, in the story, Princess Tutu was in love with the prince, but the moment she confessed her love, she turned into a speck of light – she’s a tragic princess. Other characters include Fakir, who is forever controlling Mytho since he has no willpower, and Rue, Mytho’s girlfriend who tells him that he loves her because, again, he has no willpower. Mytho’s heart has been broken into pieces and the pieces have been scattered, which is why he has no emotions. Princess Tutu has the power to return the pieces to him.

It seems to me that this series will have many episodes in which Princess Tutu goes off to find one of Mytho’s heart shards.

My favorite character is Duck, of course, since she’s spunky and selfless and CUTE! As a duck she quacks – sooo cute… Also, I like the identity crises she often has – after all, what is she? A duck, a girl, a princess…is Princes Tutu still her? And sadly, Duck always seems to come to the conclusion that she is a duck… She’s also in love with Mytho but thinks Rue and he are a perfect match. I disagree, but whatever. Right now Mytho is a zombie, so it’s hard to tell who he’d work well with.

I also like Mr. Cat, the ballet instructor who is an actual cat, who always threatens to marry the girls who don’t do well in his class.

The show does have some shortcomings. In the first few episodes, it quickly becomes apparent who the prince is…and who the raven is, although I think that Duck will discover that much later. Also, it seems that Duck resolves every “battle” by sympathetically talking to the “villains”. Talking. Or dancing a little. A very slow way to have a battle. But these aren’t battles. They’re therapy sessions.

Will I be watching the rest of the series? Well, the AMV spoils the ending, but I’d be interested in watching more anyway, although I may turn to YouTube for the next few episodes since I’m being super cheap this year. (If I can borrow it, even better.)

One cool thing about the DVD case – it has a reversible cover! Maybe I’ve just been out of it, but this is the first DVD I’ve ever owned that has a reversible cover – the light-colored side with Tutu and Drosselmeyer in the back, and the creepy dark side with Drosselmeyer’s crazy old man eyes looking on Tutu.