Category: Reviews

What I’ve watched: Samurai Champloo

Last Sunday, the Physicist and I finished watching Samurai Champloo.  Overall, I really enjoyed it, though, like many anime, it suffered from a craptastic ending.

Champloo is set in a fictionalized version of Edo-period Japan that borrows heavily from modern life (e.g. there’s baseball and hip-hop culture).  Ordinarily, the historical anachronism would bother me to no end, but, in the context of the story, they work.  The plot follows a fifteen year old girl named Fuu and the two roving samurai, Jin and Mugen, who accompany her on her quest to find the Samurai Who Smells of Sunflowers.

But the quest for the Sunflower Samurai isn’t actually that important, and most of the series is about the journey itself and the trio’s adventures along the way.  The series is well written and, unlike a lot of other anime characters, the characters in Champloo develop a bit over the course of the series.

My only real objection to the series is the ending.  The writers pulled some random villains out of left field to fight the heroes and the result is thoroughly unsatisfying.  There are also a number of WTF moments that left me scratching my head.  But overall, I really enjoyed Champloo and I’d give it a final grade of A-.

The not-so-amazing iPad

The other day I stopped by the campus tech store to check out Apple’s much vaunted iPad.  I’ve heard a lot of glowing reviews, so I thought I’d see what it was like first hand.

To be honest, I was profoundly underwhelmed.  It looks really cool, but, as I played around with it, I got the impression that it’s more of a flashy toy than anything useful.  It’s too big to fit in your pocket, so you’ll have to carry it around in a briefcase or a backpack.  If you’re going to do that, I think you might as well just carry a laptop.  If you’re looking for something really portable to surf the net on, you’d probably be better off with a smart phone.  At least you could also use that to call people.

The sales clerk seemed decidedly underwhelmed with the iPad.  We were chatting about it and he agreed that, for people who have laptops and/or iPhones, it’s a complete waste of money.

If I had $600 that I absolutely didn’t know what to do with, I wouldn’t be buying an iPad.  I’d probably buy this instead:

At least it would appreciate in value instead of becoming obsolete once Apple releases the next model in six months’ time.

My top 5 fantasy books

During a moment of boredom, I decided to come up with a list of my five favorite fantasy books.  I’ve adopted a very broad definition of ‘fantasy:’ basically, it’s anything that has some sort of supernatural events in the plot.

(1)  Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clarke. This is, withouta doubt, one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time.  Clarke does a great job of blending high fantasy with 18th century England.  The world she created is one of the richest fictional worlds I’ve ever encountered.  The historian in me also loves her ability to use real people and events to build her story.

(2)  The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud.  Okay, this isn’t one book, but I’m lumping the three of them together because they’re all great reads.  Like Susannah Clarke, Stroud is quite good at world building and his alternate reality England where magicians rule is quite interesting.  He also takes a risk by telling the story from multiple perspectives and, for the most part, it pays off.  The chapters from Bartimaeus’s perspective are especially fun to read, as the djinn has a fabulously snarky sense of humor.

(3)  The Scroll of Saqqara by Pauline Gedge.  This novel is a retelling of part of the famous Setna cycle of Demotic stories (a reasonably good translation of the original Egyptian text may be found here.)  It is the story of Prince Khaemwaset, who seeks and finds the legendary Book of Thoth, only to suffer the most dire consequences for himself and his family.  Gedge does a great job of staying true to the original source material, while still putting her own mark on the subject.  The twist ending  is one of my all-time favorites.

(4)  Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance.  This is more of a short story collection than a novel, but all the stories are interrelated.  Vance is one of the most technically proficient writers I’ve ever read.  He manages to use advanced and unusual vocabulary without coming across as an over-writing hack like Lovecraft.  Of all the stories in the collection, “Liane the Wayfarer” is probably my favorite.

(5)  War in Heaven by Charles Williams.  This is probably the oddest book on the list.  Ostensibly, the plot revolves around the Holy Grail, but this is worlds away from Indiana Jones.  Much of the novel is devoted to exploring themes of Christian Neoplatonism and, if you can get past the dense, philosophical passages, you’ll find an enjoyable story.  This novel has the most memorable opening line I’ve ever seen: “The telephone bell was ringing wildly, but without result, since there was no one in the room but the corpse.”

What about you: what are your top five fantasy books?

Alice in Blunderland

Tonight the Physicist and I went to see Alice in Wonderland.  Being a huge Tim Burton fan, I’d been looking forward to seeing it.  Alas, we both left the theater feeling disappointed.

Visually, the movie is great.  The special effects are wonderful and they really bring the world alive, even when watching it in 2D.  Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter are great as the Mad Hatter and the Red Queen respectively.

But good special effects and two good performances can’t make up for a lousy plot.  The scriptwriters tried to cram way too much in and, as a result, everything just feels rushed.  The writers also decided to shoehorn in elements of Lewis Carroll’s famous poem “The Jabberwocky.”  I suspect this was done in order to sex things up with a bit of action, but it ends up being one more thing in an already convoluted mess.

Depp and Bonham-Carter aside, the acting isn’t all that great.  Mia Wasikowska’s Alice is wooden and lacks charisma.  The White Queen, played by Anne Hathaway, is just annoying with her constant vapid fluttering.

The final strike against this movie is the ending.  It’s nothing more than a cliche-ridden attempt to turn this into a Girl Power film.  This is even more frustrating because, if the film had ended a scene or two earlier, it would’ve been a much stronger ending.

FINAL GRADE: C

What I’ve watched: NieA_7

I really wanted to like NieA_7.  I really did.  When the Physicist and I first started it, it seemed like it was going to be a lighthearted romp.  The characters were quirky and interesting and the series’ premise of aliens living peacefully among humans seemed like it could be really cool.

Alas, our enthusiasm was short lived.  The characters in NieA_7 manage to be even flatter than those in Wolf’s Rain.  Niea, the titular character, is amusing to watch, but her antics never progress beyond pratfalls.  Her roommate Mayuko spends the entire series moping and sulking like she’s the Queen of Emoland.  The other characters occasionally have funny lines, but, for the most part, they just exist.

Given how flat the characters are, it should come as little surprise that the plot leaves a lot to be desired.  Not much actually happens beyond Niea hamming it up and Mayuko sulking.  Subplots are hinted at: the bathhouse where Mayuko lives is facing financial difficulties and Niea has a difficult relationship with the other earthbound aliens.  But neither of these subplots end up going anywhere and few things about the series’ underlying mythology are ever explained.  For example, towards the end of the series, the wreck of the mothership that brought the aliens to earth disintegrates into a multitude of shining lights.  It’s hinted that this is a Big Deal, but we’re never told what the hell happened.

Also frustrating was the awkward attempt at drama.  After about seven episodes of lighthearted comedy, NieA_7 tries its hand at drama and fails miserably.  Drama only works if you have a compelling plot and interesting characters.

Pros

Funny.

It’s short.

Cons

Flat characters.

Forgettable plot.

Deliberate obscurity.

FINAL GRADE: C.

What I’ve watched: Wolf’s Rain

My Grade: C-

Every Sunday, my friend and I get together to watch anime and have dinner.  Over the years, we’ve watched a number of great series, including Fullmetal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebop, and Avatar: The Last Airbender.  We’ve also watched some not-so-great series, such as Bleach and Gilgamesh.  Recently, we finished Wolf’s Rain and, I have to say, it falls into the not-so-great category.

Let me start out by saying that I had high hopes for WR.  I first became aware of it several years ago when I found its closing theme (“Gravity”) used in some YouTube video.  But I promptly forgot about it until last December when the Physicist and I were looking to start a new anime series.  Much to my subsequent embarrassment, I suggested WR.

Like Bleach, WR gets off to a good start.  The whole premise of wolves masquerading as humans in a postapocalyptic, vaguely steampunk world was intriguing.  But it all goes downhill from there.  Most of the characters are so poorly developed that you don’t really care when they meet their Inevitable Tragic End, nor do you care about their inane subplots.  And the ending manages to be both depressing and ludicrous at the same time.

And then there are the recap episodes.  Despite the fact that the series is only thirty episodes long, WR has no less than four consecutive recap episodes in which the story so far is retold from the perspective of four different characters.  Of course they don’t end up being all that different from one another, so it just gets old really fast.  The whole thing just reeks of a production delay.  The only good thing about these recap episodes is that, in the American release at least, they’re all on the same disc, so they’re easy to avoid.

PROS

Nice Artwork

Nice Soundtrack

Cool Premise

CONS

Hamfisted Plotting

Paper-thin Characters

Pointless Recap Episodes

What I’ve read: Reliquary

Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Tor, 1997

MY GRADE: A-

Reliquary is the sequel to Relic, a book I read last summer and thoroughly enjoyed.  I loved the fact that the novel was set in a museum and featured a grad student as one of the protagonists.  And of course the idea of a monster running around the museum appealed to the fantasy enthusiast inside of me  (though it must be pointed out that it proved to be a sci-fi monster rather than a fantasy monster).  Given how much I enjoyed Relic, I knew I’d buy the sequel at some point.

Reliquary reunites most of the characters from the original, including Margo Green (who’s now a curator at the museum), her former mentor Dr. Frock, Lt. D’Agosta, FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast, and journalist Bill Smithback.

When two headless skeletons are discovered off the Manhattan shoreline, it looks as if the Mbwun (the monster from Relic might be on the loose again).  A series of strange murders ensues, but forensic evidence suggests that the Mbwun isn’t to blame.  Eventually the protagonists are forced to delve deep beneath the city into the hidden world of the ‘Mole People’ who inhabit the warren of subterranean tunnels to battle the hidden evil lurking below.

In many ways, Preston and Child did a great job of duplicating the recipe that made Relic so enjoyable.  Once again, there is a fast-paced plot advanced through the liberal use of cliffhangers.  And the sci-fi element is intriguing, if a bit far-fetched.

But at the same time, like many sequels, this one wasn’t quite as good as its predecessor.  The antagonist’s motivation struck me as a bit illogical and he ended up being defeated rather easily (though stopping the plan he’d put in motion proves to be much more difficult).  I also found Bill Smithback’s subplot to be unnecessary.  It felt like he’d been shoehorned in just to keep him in the story.

The only major complaint I have applies to Relic just as much as Reliquary and it involves Special Agent Pendergast.  From his immaculately tailored suits to his proficiency at nearly everything, he’s just too perfect to be believable.  Don’t get me wrong, I like him, it’s just that he’s basically a Marty Stu.  Preston and Child have written a number of further adventures for him, so I’ll be interested to see if he becomes more believable in later books.

Even though I didn’t enjoy this book as much as its predecessor, I still thought it was a fun read and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a fast-paced techno thriller.

What I’ve read: Raven’s Gate

Raven’s Gate by Anthony Horowitz

Scholastic, 2006

MY GRADE: B-

A while back, I stumbled upon the website for the Gatekeepers series by Anthony Horowitz (of which Raven’s Gate is the first book) and, even though the series is written for kids, I thought the basic premise seemed really cool.  So when I got an Amazon.com gift certificate, I decided to throw RG in my shopping cart.

I started reading RG the day it arrived and I managed to finish it in about two days.  It’s only 254 pages and, being a kid’s book, it moves along at a brisk pace.  For the most part, I enjoyed the overall plot and found the characters to be interesting.  Horowitz also manages to add a unique twist to the whole bad-guys-are-trying-to-unleash-some-ancient-evil trope by throwing a nuclear reactor into the mix.

That being said, on closer examination, the plot is riddled with a number of WTF? moments.  For example, Matt (the main character), is a juvenile delinquent sent to live with a strange old woman (Mrs. Deverill) in the country as a part of a government scheme to rehabilitate young offenders.  It’s established early on that Mrs. Deverill is an unpleasant person and something of a taskmaster and Matt comes to regret ending up in her house.  He decides to escape, but is thwarted by a spell that ensures that, no matter which direction he heads, he always ends up back at the same intersection.

This is where we come to the first major WTF? moment.  Matt is forced to return to Mrs. Deverill and the next scene makes it clear that she knows about his escape (she also knows that, just before he left, he rooted around in her stuff).  Yet she does nothing to punish him (or confine him) and, in fact, he’s able to attempt an escape the very next day.  She does send her demon cat to watch Matt and his escape attempt fails, but the fact that she let him attempt another get away struck me as a bit odd, considering it had already been established that Matt was very important to her for some occult reason.

Another WTF? moment comes towards the end of the novel when Matt is forced to take part in a Black Mass in an abandoned nuclear power station.  During the ceremony, Matt hears strange chanting and he’s instantly able to recognize it as a backwards rendition of the Lord’s Prayer.  I’m a practicing Episcopalian who says the Lord’s Prayer every week during the Eucharist and I’m not sure that I’d be able to recognize it if it were said backwards, so I find it a bit hard to believe that a teenager who doesn’t seem to have any particular religious background would be able to recognize it so quickly.

Perhaps these little plot infelicities can be explained by the fact that Horowitz is writing for children and had to make some logical leaps in order to keep the plot moving along at a brisk pace.  At the same time, I’ve read children’s fiction where the author manages to keep the plot moving along without creating the same sort of WTF? moments (the Harry Potter series and the Bartimaeus Trilogy spring to mind).

Horowitz also forgets from time to time that he should be showing, not telling.  Early on in the book, Matt notices a sinister-looking painting at Mrs. Deverill’s house and the narrator  simply tells us that “it must have been painted five hundred years ago,” without any elaboration. It would have been far more effective to say something about the cracked paint or the old-fashioned costume worn by the subject of the painting.

We also get a lot of  superfluous wardrobe information about the characters and, in many cases, it really doesn’t add to the characterization.  I don’t see the point of telling the reader that the main character is wearing jeans and a hooded sweatshirt.  That doesn’t tell me much about him since most teenagers dress like that.

In the end, I don’t regret buying RG, but I doubt I’ll read any of the other books in the series.  The WTF? moments and the issues with description place it firmly in the higher end of the ‘okay’ category.