Eden of the East

This Production IG anime has my attention. It’s one of the few anime with a completely original plot, and it’s pretty cool. What’s important I guess, is that it stays cool and doesn’t fall from promise like Xam’d did.

Set in modern day (without, surprisingly, any bizarre changes), Eden of East follows a girl sight-seeing in America who comes across a completely naked guy without any memories of himself, and only an unusually high-tech cellphone and a pistol in hand.

After a couple episodes in the US, the action shifts to Japan as Akira Takizawa (the former naked dude) tries to find out who he was, how he ended up where he did, and pretty much what the hell’s up. This wouldn’t sound so intimidating a concept in itself until you bring into the picture the possibility that Akira is a terrorist, and having committed mass murder, and that the situation he is in, is all a game.

A pretty screwy plot that’s still being unfolded (only 4 episodes so far, and I’ve finished 3). I love the visuals: Production IG means that the animation quality is top-notch and the OP and ED, while not particularly memorable tracks are the most visually beautiful I’ve ever seen (okay, the OP still only matches Ergo Proxy).

I see some Ghost in the Shell themes (the project is written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama, director of GitS), like heavy use of imagery and references. Probably the biggest reference to GitS is the Falling Man-style logo of what I think is the Seleçao System (which is, I believe, the game.

The quote on it reads “The abuse of greatness is when it disjoints remorse from power“. Google tells me that’s Shakespeare, said by Brutus in Julius Caeser, to be precise. I’ve spotted a number of other literary references in the OP, most likely Shakespeare again (the only one I care to remember is “The King has come!” and something more).

…

“Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision.”

- Howard Roark  from The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand

“No matter where you go, everyone’s connected.”

- Lain Iwakura from Serial Experiments: Lain

“When one person is cursed, two graves are dug.”

- Ai Enma from Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae

“In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love – they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”

- Harry Lime from The Third Man

“He is drowned in emotions
He fades away from pain,
And heart is beating in the rhythm of ocean,
And soul is trying to forget her last mistake.”

- “Monarch of the Red” by Capitollium on Engraved Fear

Gravity

Gravity, by Maaya Sakamoto on the Wolf’s Rain Soundtrack.

This is a very beautiful song, and easily one of my all-time anime soundtrack favourites. Yoko Kanno never disappoints! While I’m loving every bit of Wolf’s Rain’s background music (and am rather unsure about the opening), the ending is nothing short of perfection.

Been a long road to follow,
Been there and gone tomorrow,
Without saying goodbye to yesterday.
Are the memories I hold still valid,
Or hath the tears deluded them?

Maybe this time tomorrow,
The rain will cease to follow,
And the mist will fade into one more today.
Something somewhere out there keeps calling,

Am I going home?
Will I hear someone singing solace to the silent moon?
Zero gravity what’s it like?
Am I alone? Is somebody there beyond these heavy aching feet?

Still the road keeps on telling me to go on.
Something is pulling me,
I feel the gravity of it all.

Starting Wolf’s Rain

Most of the torrents I found for Darker than Black were of a massively-sized Matroska video format, which made my beloved The KMPlayer slow down and destroyed the spartan VLC player. So I suppose I will have to abandon that one until someone releases an avi version of it, or at least one with a smaller resolution.

Meanwhile, I took to Wolf’s Rain, one episode of which I had watched on Animax. I was very impressed with what I saw then, and I still am – excellent screenplay, perfect editing, conceptual art and so on. I’d go on to say that it is definitely the second best anime I’ve seen, second only to Cowboy Bebop. (I’m probably saying a bit more than I should here, but what the hell)

I especially like how the wolves and animals behave realistically, as opposed to having them being extra humanish or something. The story in itself is pretty mysterious still, alluding to the “wolves” who are supposed to be extinct, knowing where “paradise” is. Kiba, the protagonist, a proud wolf arrives at a city, where he meets wolves masquerading as men (which he utterly despises).

I’ll say this that the story isn’t dashingly original or brain-meltingly awesome, but it does have its charm, and that’s what is important. Every scene was enjoyable and left you wanting for more – not for the story, but because of the depth established by the fine work on the series.

The only thing that didn’t impress me, I’d say are the visuals. Even there, the locations, backgrounds, concept art, all of it is fantastic, and I noted the various designs and elements with interest here. But the characters feel to be drawn from a rather old anime. Perhaps that’s nitpicking.

No more Chevaliers

Gave up on Le Chevalier d’Eon finally, with only about 6-7 episodes left. To be honest, I think the story goes a little downhill right from the start, but is at least pulled with finesse in the first 10 episodes or so. After that it becomes your average anime super-battle between mysterious organizations. Even the animation had started to fade and the series gotten too monotonous and weary to watch. Really, considering its first few episodes, I had great expectations for this one.

I’m looking into Darker than Black now – it’s got music from Yoko Kanno, one of my favourite music composers (she composed the greatest anime soundtracks ever including all the Ghost in the Shell ones and the legendary Cowboy Bebop). I’m not too hot about the show’s premise, but I have a feeling it must end up well.

And I’m not going to do a review of Le Chevalier d’Eon either, since I haven’t finished it.

First Impressions: Le Chevalier d’Eon

So I decided to try out Le Chevalier d’Eon over continuing Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex or starting Wolf’s Rain. Rest assured I will do those later.

Set in 18th Century France, Le Chevalier d’Eon follows d’Eon de Beaumont, a French noble as he investigates the death of his sister, Lia de Beaumont by joining a Secret Police called the King’s Secret. Things turn grisly soon enough and he uncovers a devastating conspiracy. At least, that’s what I could piece together right now.

I thought what I’d do was