Gen X Otaku 1971: the OG blog

Special advance screening: Bayonetta!

Mari Shimazaki tried to make the witch Bayonetta more appealing with longer limbs and adjusted proportions. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was expecting to write this post telling readers all about Episodes 1-4 of The Devil Is A Part Time, but instead our host Rommel S. pulled a switcheroo on us and treated us instead to an exclusive advanced screening of the new Bayonetta movie!!  While I was looking forward to The Devil Is A Part Timer, it is in fact screening WITH the English dub on Netflix as of this writing.  So I can watch it anytime, in fact.  Currently I'm back to watching Fairy Tail, and I'm also part-way through Psycho-Pass.  I was pleasantly surprised to get to watch Bayonetta this evening, having only just today heard it talked about on the most recent episode of ANNCast with Zac & Justin.  Apparently FUNimation was very flexible with this production and went out of their way to call back the original voice actors from the original SEGA video game, including sending the ADR Director to the UK to track down the English voice actor for Bayonetta and record her dialogue at a sound studio in England, conducted over the course of 12 days.  I was very impressed with the visuals of this movie, which is non-stop action, never a dull moment.  I have no experience with the video game or its fictional world, but the movie does a decent job of exposition via dialogue that I caught on fairly quickly who the principle players were, etc.  I never once felt confused or disoriented.  The "angels" of this world reminded me in passing of the menancing nature of the "angels" of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and to a lesser degree some of the visual motifs of RaXephon, as well.  I was unclear if Witch Jean was intended to be a nodding reference to Jean D'Arc (Joan of Arc) or if that nomenclature was merely coincidence.

This is a definite Blu-Ray collectors' item, if nothing else for the intense battle sequences alone, of which this movie delivers in spades.  Unlike the Blood C movie, which had serious pacing problems, the pacing in Bayonetta moves along at an even clip with no drag whatsoever.  It feels like watching a successful play-through of a medium sized video game.  The story is ostensibly set on earth, but the countries are fictional and it also takes place partly in certain terra incognitae astral realms outside of normal space-time.  The angels are invisible to ordinary humans but can wreak havoc on the physical world nonetheless.

It's difficult to really talk about this film without spoiling it; those that know the videogame already know the story.  I came into the theater a blank slate and was reasonably entertained by the spectacle.  It is rated TV-MA but mostly for the graphic violence and some of the heavy sexual overtones and fanservice, but there's very little in the way of overt nudity.  It's provocatively sexy but hardly "smutty".  Bayonetta as a character is larger than life and over the top.  She's an unruly demigod with a strong will of her own.  The entire movie is basically watching Bayonetta kick ass, over and over again.  My only criticism of the movie is that Bayonetta is basically female Superman who never has to confront any metaphorical "kryptonite".  She never suffers, never endures any defeats or setbacks.  She's perhaps a little too perfect as a cinematic hero.  I like to see my heroes and heroines suffer and struggle a little on the way to attaining their goal.  I suppose one could argue that in her past she knew defeat and suffering, but we only get that in glimpses and flashbacks.  Again, it's damn impressive in its visuals, and it's nearly enough to bamboozle the audience into overlooking Bayonetta's indestructability and lack of empathy for nearly any of the other characters.  The ADR script was witty, with plenty of amusing one-liners that provoked laughter in the audience tonight.  I would definitely re-watch this movie, and it piqued my interest in the videogame franchise as well.

My thanks to our host R.S. once more for securing this special advance screening for us at Alamo Drafthouse Mason Park in Katy, Texas.

Finished Ep.1-10 of Blood Lad on Neon Alley

130601 – 吸血鬼冒險動畫《ブラッドラッド》（BLOOD LAD 血意少年）將在7月首播，主角聲優陣容&首張海報一同揭曉！ (Photo credit: ccsx)

Thanks to Neon Alley, I was able to watch the English dub of Episodes 1-10 of the new anime series Blood Lad, soon to be available on DVD from VIZ media.

For the most part, I like the series.  The main male protagonist is a slacker otaku vampire demon known as Staz Charlie Blood (ブラッド・チャーリー・スタズ Buraddo Chārī Sutazu^?) and voiced in English by Bryce Papenbrook (who also voices Eren in Attack on Titan and Rin in Blue Exorcist).  He feels guilty and responsible for the death of ordinary Japanese schoolgirl Fuyumi Yanagi (柳 冬実 Yanagi Fuyumi^?) who foolishly wandered into the Demon Realm.  She becomes a ghost and Staz promises he will do everything possible to bring her back to life as a normal human.

Most of the action is driven by this central plot point, though there are side stories that also feed into the main plot, other characters with different agendas, etc.

The story has a good balance of solid action and slapstick comedy.  It makes jokey references to other anime that are kind of a wink and a nod to the viewer.  The opening titles make an offhanded reference to Neon Genesis Evangelion where Fuyumi is strung up on a tilted cross like Lilith in NGE.  Staz also almost blatantly rips off Dragon Ball Z, and Fuyumi breaks the fourth wall by urging Staz to not say out loud the attack name he is planning to use (for fear of being sued for copyright infringement).  There are assorted other jokey references in passing to other popular anime known to otaku.  Staz himself is something of an otaku, with an extensive manga, anime, and figurine collection and an obsession with this aspect of Japan's culture.

Staz's best friend and rival is a werewolf who simply calls himself "Wolf"; He also must contend with Bell Hydra (ハイドラベル Haidora Beru^?), a treasure hunter and dimensional magic user.  She's a busty blonde and kind of a tsundere.  She starts to fall in love with Staz after he unlocks his buried super powers...or more precisely, is forced to by his older brother Braz D. Blood (ブラッド・D・ブラッズ Buraddo D. Burazzu^?), voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch, after Staz is captured and imprisoned by his impish little sister Liz T. Blood (ブラッド・T・リズ Buraddo T. Rizu^?).  Though most of the time she wears a terrifying iron mask, she's actually a cute little redheaded girl with red eyes.

Fuyumi begins to befriend Liz, and Liz is able to open up to Fuyumi and come out of her shell a little.  She slowly learns to trust and respect Staz, though she still mainly seeks the approval and praise of her older brother Braz, and views herself in competition with Staz for the eldest brother's attention.

The story is fairly engaging and entertaining, but my one complaint is how the main female protagonist, Fuyumi, is utterly infantalized.  She's completely helpless and has no agency...in order to keep from disappearing completely, she is forced to consume Staz's blood, which he administers by making her suck his thumb like a baby.  Later, she is also sustained by a glowing purple potion devised by mad scientist Franken Stein (フランケン・シュタイン Furanken Shutain^?) as a stop gap measure...and these potions are consumed from vessels that resemble a baby's milk bottle...once again utterly infantalizing Fuyumi.  It's really pretty sexist and humilitating.

Staz is a likeable roguish "dark hero".  He has a fair amount of psychological growth as a character in the first 10 episodes; these first 10 episodes are far from a conclusion of the series, but do represent the end of an initial arc of the story.  The music to the series is catchy but not exceptional.  The fight choreography is exciting and fun to watch.

I definitely recommend checking this show out, as it's available only for a limited time on Neon Alley right now.  Although not  a priority purchase for me, I would consider picking up the VIZ release eventually.  If you miss the window of opportunity on Neon Alley, definitely go pick up the VIZ release of this series on DVD or Blu-Ray.

I very much enjoyed the English voice performances and am glad to be able to watch an entire first arc in English on Neon Alley.  Been the first time in a long time since I've been able to do precisely that.  I hope I'm able to do the same with Gargantia in October this year.