Yakushiji Ryoko no Kaiki Jikenbo (Ryoko’s Case Files)

July 31, 2008 at 9:23 pm | In adventure, anime, grownup is not a panacea, plot crystalization, summer 2008 | Leave a Comment

Summary: Adult action office romance adventure with some supernatural. Yes, it’s (too?) busy.
Based on: 13 episodes
Series info: at Anime News Network (pic shamelessly lifted from there too)

This one’s a bit strange. It’s obviously written for adults, not teens or kids, which is a good start. Ryoko’s an apparently brilliant police investigor who spends all her time slacking off. Her assistant Junichiro is basically her babysitter. But when the weird stuff starts happening, she’s suddenly in the thick of things to fix it, which is apparently why they still keep her employed. You’ll sometimes hear this one referred to as Ryoko’s Supernatural Case Files, but it’s more Science Gone Mad thing than vengeful ghosts. The Kaiki just means bizarre/strange.

All the women in this show are strong and dominant and all the men are semi-closeted submissives, which is hardly unique in adult anime, but a nice change from the usual teen stuff.  Presumably this appeals to Japanese salarymen, but then they have to undermine it by constantly non-subtly hinting that Ryoko’s fallen for Junichiro, though she’d never admit it. So she’s allowed to be strong, but still weak enough she doesn’t totally emasculate the viewers. In fact, the 3rd episode is pretty much a total waste based on this ‘plot’.

Usually you’ll hear me bemoaning shows for too much action and not enough plot or character building, but honestly in this show the action is much more interesting than the relationship building, which I find fairly awkward and stunted.  But Ep 2 has giant man-eating snakes destroying buildings in downtown Tokyo and a very amusing interrogation scene. I thoroughly enjoyed the Doc Savage vibe in that one, so I’m going to keep watching for a while longer to see what comes up.

Update: I’ve watched it all now. I particularly like how the plot crystalized in the last 5 eps or so for a big dramatic finish that pulled in a bunch of seemingly throwaway plot points from early episodes.  The ending was a little facile, but respectable.

I don’t usually mention specific sub groups, but big thanks to AonE and AnY for following through one of the few respectable anime that’s actually for adults out to completion.

define: grownup is not a panacea

April 30, 2008 at 6:20 am | In definition, grownup is not a panacea | Leave a Comment

I make a big deal here about ‘grownup’ anime, but this is obviously not a panacea.  Just look at American TV – there are plenty of shows aimed at adults who just happen to be dumb adults. Similarly, there are many anime series that are intended for worldweary but not very bright adults.

You can usually distinguish these from the teen anime by the lack of teen cliches (offices replace schools), the fact that the characters are adults, and a slight emphasis on dialogue over action. But bad adult anime have their own series of cliches:

  • the humble protagonist is gifted with godlike powers in at least one specialty.
  • heavy reliance on technogibberish.
  • there’s usually some gimmicky premise that’s taken to ridiculous extremes.
  • extreme use of deus ex machina or unbelievable coincidence to keep the plot moving.
  • episodic nature (self-contained stories that don’t require you to watch every week).
  • over-reliance on trick/twist endings.

Horrible examples of this include Moonlight MIle, Himitsu: The Revelation, and Real Drive.

So what I’m saying by ‘anime for grownups’ is something that won’t insult your experience as an adult but also something that won’t insult your intelligence

Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.