Blue Exorcist on Toonami; 1:30 AM Timeslot

With Blue Exorcist having aired yesterday on popular animation block “Toonami” I figure now would be a good time to talk about this show I’ve come to love so much. I anticipate that many fans are going to be getting into the series just now and I would like to take the time to initiate people who aren’t prepared for what they are going to be watching.

The reason I say this is because Toonami has decided to make a commercial spot prior to the airing of the show that seems to offer promises that the show has no intentions of living up to. While most of the plot remains intact there are several issues that I wish to lay down for anyone who is considering watching this series.

First of all, Blue Exorcist is an action comedy, and the main focus is not fighting demons. This is one of many things that bothered me deeply about the advertisement that was run, as Blue Exorcist has a lot of depth to it that may be missed by someone seeing the trailer. The series is somewhat short and there are no singular battles that last any extended amounts of time. Yes, some arcs take a prolonged time, but that is because the series is telling a story more than it is telling a fight scene.

What Blue Exorcist is is a show about finding one’s place in the world even with the odds stacked against you. While I won’t go too much into detail seeing as only one episode has aired on television so far, I won’t skirt around the issues that have been stated outright either by the trailer or the first episode.

Rin is a half-demon and the son of Satan, the bane of all exorcists. Despite this the first episode shows that he’s not a bad guy. He’s not intelligent, he’s not popular, and he’s a bit of a loser. He gets into fights often and can’t seem to hold down a job for more than a day or two. He has freakish strength, however, and is an earnest and hard worker, as well as an overall nice guy.

The show tries to balance out Rin’s life as both a human and a demon, as he comes to terms with the fact of who he is. He is aware that most people likely would have been happier had he never been born. And yet he decides to power through and make a way for himself in this world that has no need for him. He doesn’t decide to become an exorcist to save his own life or to thin out some upcoming demon invasion as the ad would have you believe. He becomes an exorcist because that is the only way he feels he can move forward with his life.

The fight scenes in the series are good and rather interesting, but that is far from the show. The show centers mainly on its characters and their inner struggles, less on the action adventure demon fighting. Many of the episodes feature no fighting at all and very little in the way of demons, but you’re given a glimpse into the characters and their way of life. You get to know what drives them and what makes them who they are. What insecurities they carry with them and what baggage is hanging on their shoulders.

Of course with only a modest number of episodes to run through the show is far from a completed story, but it serves as a good springboard into the manga which is still going strong. While the anime focuses mainly on Rin and Yukio the manga spares more time for the other characters, dealing with their problems and watching as they struggle to continue moving forward despite them.

I am hoping people enjoyed what they saw on Toonami last night, and I sincerely hope they stick around to see all the potential that this show has.

Katanagatari: Volume One Premium Edition (Blu-ray/DVD Combo) - An appreciation of unusual aesthetics

The Katanagatari: Volume One Premium Edition (Blu-ray/DVD Combo) pack is a beautiful way to appreciate the rather unique yet beautiful animation that the series itself employs. While the style may seem simple at first it carries with it an elegant charm, and the illustrations on the box are rather beautiful and highly stylized.

The box itself is rather large, standing tall enough to hold both DVD/Blu-rays one on top of another instead of one behind the next. It's a rather intimidating box that doesn't fit well on a DVD shelf, which is only natural as the case itself is intended to be displayed. If you're looking just to possess the series itself this likely isn't the way to go, but the extra features are well worth it.

The box itself is rather sturdy cardboard with beautiful illustrations wrapped around it. The front and back feature art from the series, which is modeled after more traditional Japanese art as opposed to the more common digital art style that is prevalent in series these days. It carries an entirely different aesthetic than most anime series. It is a nice display piece even if you find you aren't a fan of the series.

Each of the DVD/Blu-rays is decorated with a more straight-forward piece of art from the series proper. The DVDs and Blu-rays are decorated with a rather simple image of a leaf over the center of the disc. While DVDs recently have featured somewhat extravagant art, the simplicity of the discs fits well with the series proper.

As far as the DVD/Blu-rays themselves are concerned, there isn't much in the way of extras aside from the creditless opening and endings, which is more impressive than it sounds since each episode of the series features a new ending. That brings the total of extra videos to seven, as there are six episodes in the first half of the series. The series itself is only in Japanese with English subtitles, so there's no option for people who dislike reading subtitles. It shouldn't be a problem, however, and the lack of a dub track makes the set cheaper than it would be otherwise. The only real issue is the fact that the Blu-ray discs feature smaller subtitles than the DVD episodes, but it shouldn't be much of a problem.

The series also comes with an artbook which features not only short recaps of the episodes included in the set but also a few illustrations near the back that aren't related to the episodes themselves. The episode recap pages also feature illustrations on the opposite page, giving episode-specific art as well as the unrelated pictures near the end.

The series itself is rather beautiful and features an entertaining cast of characters, and is well worth the money spent to purchase this collection. The lead character is another of your idiot protagonists, but more than just being an idiot he's clueless. He accepts things as they are and easily gives in to his companions' corrections. Even the leading female's insistence that he finish their enemies with a flare is taken to heart almost immediately.

Overall it's a series I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of the arts as well as anime in general. It is visually pleasing in all regards and the story is interesting in its many unusual interpretations of what it is to wield a sword of unusual power.

There are two parts to this set, both of which you can purchase here:

Katanagatari: Volume One Premium Edition (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Katanagatari Volume Two Premium Edition (Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Anime Review: Legend of the Legendary Heroes

I suppose on occasion it might be in my best interest to write up a serious review, so without further ado I'll delve right into the main content of today's post. At the moment I'm looking at Funimation's Blu-ray boxset of Legend of the Legendary Heroes. We'll begin with the boring details and go into the series proper from there.

Legend of the Legendary Heroes

The Blu-ray two-part boxset offered by Funimation

Legend of the Legendary Heroes (2010) is a 24-episode series based on a series of light novels that have--as of now--only been released in Japan. This, unfortunately, means that the series is only the beginning of a much larger narrative. The Japanese vocal cast consists of Jun Fukuyama, Daisuke Ono, and Ayahi Takagaki as the three lead characters. To most die-hard anime fans these names should ring a bell and--if memorizing names isn't your thing--the voices should at least sound familiar to those who watch their anime in sub. The English dub features Ian Sinclair, Eric Vale, and Luci Christian. Many of these are familiar voices as well, to those who prefer to watch in dub.

As for the physical contents of the Blu-ray/DVD pack Funimation has put their effort into offering something more than the bare necessities but unfortunately there is little more than that. While the Blu-ray comes together with the DVD series (as is common these days) they offer little more than the usual extra features. Commentary and textless openings/endings are standard these days. The DVDs do, however, come with character cards in each. Personally I'm a little saddened to see Shion left out of the action. With three main characters it is unfortunate that only two of them come with the Blu-rays.

The limited edition of the first Blu-ray does, however, come with a nice box to store both cases in.

The Story: 

The series follows three characters each working towards the goal of creating a world in which they can all live peacefully. Ryner Lute is an idealist who has been persecuted his whole life due to the Alpha Stigma, a power that allows him to copy the magic of others. He dreams of an easygoing life spent napping while on his quest together with Ferris Eris to find the "hero relics" that will hopefully move the world towards peace. Meanwhile, Ryner's friend Shion Astal pursues his ambition to become the king of a kinder nation.

Overall Impression:

To begin with I'd like to make it clear that I enjoyed this show. I laughed, I cried, and I genuinely came to care about the characters throughout the course of the series. Now that we've gotten that out of the way I can speak more in detail about the show itself.

First and foremost I rather enjoyed the dub for this show. Since this blog was originally created with the intent of analyzing the differences between Japanese and English language tracks in anime series I thought perhaps it would be most fitting to begin here and work towards a final conclusion. Ian Sinclair truly brings the character of Ryner to life with his portrayal, and even the most simple of lines is delivered with just the right emotional level.

While on that topic, however, it should be mentioned that the emotional tone of the series can at times be rather jarring. What seems to be a rather generic fantasy comedy leads way to some rather dark scenes fairly early on. Legend of the Legendary Heroes does this often, which can come off a little hectic. Characters who appear in humorous scenes at the beginning of an episode may find themselves entrenched in a bloodbath by the end, although the series does take care to set the mood before any large jumps. Perhaps the most awkward of these instances, however, comes near the end of the series. What should be a building climax is surrounded by humor and a oft-forgotten yet slowly building unease.

The main issue this series has, however, is its lack of an ending. The series itself ends with the buildup to what would originally be another arc of the story, and gives the viewer something to look forward to (fans of the show are still desperately awaiting a second season). Unfortunately the source material cannot be found in the United States, meaning that this sendoff leads the audience straight into that ever present brick wall people call the language barrier. What is even more offensive, however, is the simple fact that the questions raised (in what was likely the first act in a series of books) are never answered. Vague hints are dropped here and there as to what it is that is going on near to the end of the series, but it is rather obvious that the answers to these questions are ones that the story is going to take some time trying to resolve. Unfortunately the anime doesn't have that time. What exactly is going on is left entirely without explanation. Terms are thrown around in the last several episodes that are never defined and characters appear and disappear without a single explanation.

What is in the series, however, is worth a look. I only wish foreign audiences would be given the opportunity to seek the answers that Legend of the Legendary Heroes never answers, whether this be through a second series or through foreign-language releases of the novels they were based upon.