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Thursday, May 28
Plastic Memories – Anime first thoughts
Plastic Memories is a series that sounded tear-worthy from the very first description I read. And I was right to assume that. The anime is set in a world where humans live happily alongside very human-like androids named Giftia. Giftia are specifically developed for various ‘owners’ requirements, whether it be for work, companionship or to fill a missing family gap, they mean a great deal to those who own them. The problem is, with a lifespan of 81,920 hours (roughly nine years and four months), Giftia do eventually have to be let go. Although they possess very human emotions and personalities, they do not age as a human would. When a Giftia approaches the end of its lifespan, the Terminal Service comes and collects the expiring Giftia, erasing their memories before they begin to deteriorate.
Now, if you don’t find the idea of someone’s nine year beloved companion suddenly being hauled away and shut down to be a sad one, then I’m not sure you are capable of feeling sadness. Within the very first episode of Plastic Memories, we are subject to witnessing the heartbreak of a Giftia reaching expiration. Although it’s more of a bittersweet and peaceful goodbye, it’s extremely touching. It only took this show twenty minutes to get a tear from me and that’s quite an achievement within the pilot episode. The show appears to deal a lot with the characters within, focusing on relationships and bonds and how much one person can mean to another. It really can be quite thought provoking as you watch and evaluate how you would feel in these various people’s lives. Throughout the initial episodes, we come across four very different instances of Giftia and their owners and the purposes they serve to each other. The show is well thought out in terms of making the relationships diverse and making sure the audience is aware of just how real these Giftia are. It’s very absorbing and can be easy to forgot that they only last nine years. When you realise that as you’re thinking up a storm of the attachment these two ‘people’ have, it’s kind of heart shattering.
We see events unfold in Plastic Memories as we follow our protagonist, Tsukasa Mizugaki, as he embarks on his first day working for the Terminal Service. Tsukasa is a very average-Joe kind of character. He’s an eighteen year old college dropout, due to medical reasons of course because there’s literally no other issues in anime… apparently. Although clueless and seemingly useless, Tsukasa is accepted (mostly) into his new job and assumes the role of a ‘spotter’. The Terminal Service works in the format of teams. One human, the spotter, and one Giftia, the marksman. The partners work together as two points of view in order to persuade Giftia away from both willing and very stubborn owners. However when Tsukasa is paired with his marksman, Isla, it becomes clear that not all Giftia are particularly good at their job.
We see Isla within the first literal seconds of episode one, judging purely on her timid appearance, one would guess that she would be a typical quiet and stern type. Complete opposite. Isla is a huge klutz with a plethora of quirks and ‘flaws’. She’s adorably child-like and accident prone, which makes her the perfect balance for Tsukasa, who admittedly, by episode two, was already becoming quite boring and dry. The use of partners, however, does serve the anime well. With multiple teams working within the Terminal Service, the writers clearly seized the opportunity to create both functional and utterly dysfunctional pairings which serves constant entertainment, as well as giving the audience that fun choice of which pairing they like/dislike the most. It’s all about the comparison.
That being said, when comparing Isla to the other, more talented, Giftia in her line of work. It becomes increasingly obvious what the deal is. Without spoiling anything, although I wouldn’t class it as much of a spoiler, the anime dishes out bad news after bad news. Most people won’t believe me when saying it, but when I first saw Tsukasa and Isla meet eye to eye in their opening scene, it didn’t take long for everything else to fall into place. Unfortunately for such an interesting premise, the anime is far too predictable. The surprises are like long awaited guesses and can make it feel almost disappointing as you wait for something amazing to happen. But that doesn’t mean to say that the show isn’t worth watching. For an original series with no previous source material, it can’t be faulted. It’s unlike the stereotypes seen in each anime season and definitely stands out as something different for those who are sick of the usual romance and sports anime. As predictable as it seems, it’s still going to be a series that demands a tissue… or ten.
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Anime first thoughts
IT’S A HAREM, A HAREM. RUN. IT’S A HAREM. No, I’m kidding. I’m being open-minded this season and branching out. I just hope I won’t regret it. I have to be honest, I was put off by the title of this anime. For obvious reasons, I just assumed I’d be delving into a very flat and boring storyline of boy likes girl but other girl likes boy. Oh and that girl…and that one…and so on. BUT I was drawn in by the artwork for the series, and particularly by the protagonist, Bell. His cutesy white locks and red eyes evoked memories of Shion from No. 6 and Nai from Karneval. Plus, video-game settings are almost always a winner. This first impression proved accurate when actually watching the anime as the appealing art style in the stills carried over into fluid animation well, with a few action scenes showing off what this series could potentially grow into.
So the initial impression created by the first episodes of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is a very Sword Art Online feel, except that the characters aren’t held hostage or anything like that. It’s set in a lovely and lively fantasy game world, and within the first frames of the anime, displaying the bustling streets of the market, I felt pulled into a vast and creative landscape. I just had an instant feeling that, even if I didn’t like the story, I was definitely going to enjoy the design and art aspects. As the episodes progress, a whole wealth of beautifully unique characters are introduced. It’s actually quite impressive to see so many faces brought in so early in a series, adding a nice level of diversity and suggesting possibilities for future interactions.
The story itself is pretty lack-lustre so far. As the title suggests, it’s simply about a boy who wants to pick up a girl in this video game world. The girl is strong and powerful, whereas Bell is pretty much a level one newboid, so despite the dull concept, there’s a nice bit of role reversal. There’s also the problem of Bell and his love interest falling into different ‘houses’ in the game, resulting in a Romeo and Juliet-like premise. Despite his cluelessness about girls, Bell is adorably determined and high-spirited, making him rather amusing to watch. A lot of the time, he’s just a blushing mess, but for the most part it’s endearing: we feel sorry for him, and so want to cheer him on in his efforts.
The only major issue with this series so far is the direction it looks set to head in. The revelation in Episode Two that Bell has a secret skill causing him to grow (in game stats) at a rapid rate strays worryingly into god-mod territory. I fear that Bell will lose his childish, naive charm and instead become an overpowered little nugget of annoyance. Oh, and there are also a lot of boobs (obviously, since they go hand and hand with the harem setting) for those who are interested in that sort of thing.
Book review: Flashes by Tim O'Rourke
Most good books have a cover and/or a blurb that hook you right in from the get-go, and Tim O’Rourke’s Flashes is definitely one of those. A mysterious young girl standing on the train tracks, references to crime and strange goings on, and O’Rourke almost has you gripped before you’ve even opened the book. It’s an opportunity missed by many books, which often copy the style of other well-known releases rather than looking to stand out from the crowd. Thankfully, Flashes manages to be interesting inside and out.
The tale is told from two main perspectives – that of Charley, a young girl who experiences bizarre moments of somewhat supernatural or psychic visions which she likes to call ‘flashes’, and of Tom, a fledgling police officer eager to climb up the ranks. Their paths inevitably cross due to Charley’s pursuit of the truth in relation to her flashes, trying to connect the dots between what she sees and what happens in the local news. With Tom on the scene, she has someone to confide in, and together they take a journey of discovery, deception and romance.
I must admit that I found the romance element to be a little forced at first. Overall it’s a story concept that’s ended up overused in recent times, when many stories simply don’t need the main characters to get together romantically. You can probably blame Twilight and similar popular books for that. However, O’Rourke manages to flesh out the relationship between Charley and Tom beyond a stereotypical young couple to a more emotional and supportive one. The story ends up working better because of it, as it raises the stakes for all involved, and makes the situations Charley ends up in feel all the more real and perilous.
To O’Rourke’s credit, the repartee and banter between Tom and his fellow police officers always feels genuine and authentic. It never feels like a cheap rip off of similar interactions in The Bill or other crime stories: instead, Tim’s own personal experiences really shine through. Tom’s ambitious nature rubs some of his colleagues up the wrong way, and it’s interesting to see how these difficult interactions all intertwine as the story goes on. The same goes for Charley and the tempestuous relationship she has with her father, having lost her mother and, more recently, her friend, both in suspicious circumstances.
There is a real darkness to Flashes that the author manages to draw the reader into. Whether it’s being near the train tracks or stuck with someone mysterious near her, Charley’s circumstances always come across crystal clear through the descriptive nature of the writing. It makes for a tense and edgy read which always keeps you guessing right to the end, and O’Rourke certainly had me fooled through much of the book. Final acts are often telegraphed, but not here, as Flashes manages to be as clever as it tries to be. It’s a relief that the quality of the storytelling throughout is matched by its resolution.
A concept like that at the core of Flashes could easily be a cheap device but it is used sparsely and only to ramp up the tension and add to the reader’s enjoyment. O’Rourke certainly tells a modern tale, dropping references to current technology and music that places Flashes in the here and now, and this can be a little jarring from overuse at times. However, beyond that is a solid effort that presents strong characters of both genders, and an addictive idea that works better than expected. Part crime thriller and part romance, Flashes is a gratifying story that will appeal to a whole spectrum of readers.
Flashes is now available from Chicken House in paperback and three-part eBook.
The paperback also contains a bonus story with Tom and Kiera Hudson, the main character from O’Rourke’s other book series.