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It was about
4 years ago when I started to get interested
in the world of Anime (Japanese animation
for the uninitiated). Admittedly a lot of
what I’d seen in the past didn’t
really impress me.
Of course, I had watched “Speed Racer”
when I was a kid, and enjoyed it only because
it was a colorful cartoon, fast and easy
to understand. As an adult I had only been
exposed to Pokemon, Digimon and all the
other little ‘mons' floating around
out there. Seems I just couldn’t ever
get myself interested enough in Anime to
watch any of the supposed ‘good stuff.’
Early in 2002, I caught part of an episode
of a series called Cowboy Bebop. And when
I say ‘part’, I mean I only
saw the last five minutes of an episode.
Oddly enough, in that five minutes I saw
some of the best and most remarkable animation
I had seen in years. I immediately started
looking into getting some of the shows on
DVD to see what I had been missing.
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I found a full set of the series, watched the
entire thing in two days and was hooked. My only
disappointment, the fact that those 26 episodes
were all there was.
Since that time, I’ve attempted to broaden
my anime horizons a little bit by checking out
other titles and what I found was interesting.
For the most part, they are no different from
any other form of entertainment in that some titles
really appeal to me… while others don’t.
Sometimes even in the course of the same series,
the styles are so radically different, that I
may only get into one part of the story. Vampire
Hunter D is a great example. The style of the
first movie really didn’t appeal to me as
it was too cartoon-ish, whereas the sequel Bloodlust
was a bit more ‘photo-real’ and I
enjoyed it all the more.
Anime as a form of entertainment has had very
few breakthrough films in the U.S., but they are
gaining ground. For the most part, the films of
Hayao Miyazaki are really the only ones that have
crossed over, as it were, to appeal to mainstream
audiences. Thanks to the folks at Pixar, films
like Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away and Castle
in the Sky have been released in terrific DVD
sets. Yet for all their visual beauty and complex
storytelling, I’m still not a big fan of
the work. I would rather watch the more realistic
(and I use the term lightly), Akira by director
Katsuhiro Ôtomo or Ghost in the Shell by
Mamoru Oshii. But, to each his own I always say.
What appeals to me might not appeal to others,
and vice versa.
The most recent anime feature that I have seen
is called Karas: The Prophecy, which was released
this week by Anchor Bay. Right off the bat I was
drawn in by an opening battle between two warriors.
It was a spectacular mix of 3-D and 2-D animation.
It was actually a little breathtaking to watch.
This took place right before the credits then
afterwards we are brought into what appears to
be a more modern time. From that point on I was
caught in a perpetual state of 'Huh?' It seems
the story involved supernatural forces of some
sort, good and evil fighting over the fate of
mankind, etc… To be honest it was quite
incomprehensible. Of course, this tends to be
the case with a lot of anime, which is often based
on Asian mythology or already pre-existing anime
plotlines. You really need to be knowledgeable
about one or the other to really get into the
story.
The bright side of Karas: The Prophecy is that
in spite of the impossible to figure out plot,
the look of the animation throughout is incredible.
The artists took great care in their rendering
and mixing of the two styles and making them mesh.
There are numerous sequences that literally blow
away anything I've seen in any other anime title.
Plus the DVD release has several special features
that focus on the making of the film, which includes
animation comparisons and interviews with the
Japanese creative team and voice actors. Unfortunately,
there are no interviews with the American voice
actors, which included the likes of Matthew Lillard,
Piper Perabo and Jay Hernandez. I really would
have liked to hear from them.
Karas: The Prophecy is certainly an above average
anime project, and those more familiar with that
type of plotting will certainly get more out of
it, but if you're looking for some impressive
visuals you won’t be disappointed.
Directed by: Keiichi Soto
Starring (the voices of): Matthew Lillard, Jay
Hernendez, Piper Perabo
Extras: Behind the Scenes Montage "The Making
of Karas", Original Concept / Animation Comparison,
Original Japanese Trailers and TV Spots, Interviews
with Japanese Voice Actors, Directors and Producers
Specifications: Widescreen, 6.1 Dolby EX Surround,
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
Studio: Anchor Bay
Release Date: 4/25/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
Website
We'll give Karas: The Prophecy a C+.
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