Theory Musing: The Three Pillars of Sports (Boxing) Anime & Manga

First off, Hurricane/Tropical Storm/Tropical Depression Sandy sure was a powerful force of nature, wasn't it?  Living in Central New Jersey I think I was lucky to have nothing more than a loss of power for roughly 30 hours, because driving around yesterday really let me see just how much stuff was uprooted and destroyed, and I know that the coast is in even worse condition.  Luckily, I spent the time I had without electricity by relaxing, reading some Prince of Tennis (only 1.5 volumes to go!), and, by way of a laptop with limited power, I watched some episodes of Hajime no Ippo, which I have been getting through slowly-as-hell for the past few years (I finally made it to the third opening!).  Me reading sports manga & watching sports anime, though, is really just a continuation of what I had done just a few days earlier, when I offered to appear on ANNCast's most recent call-out show and talk with Zac about sports anime, specifically how there seems to be a split of opinion between the more realistic titles (stuff like Touch, Ashita no Joe, Monkey Turn, & even Hajime no Ippo) and the more "over-the-top" fare (stuff like Ring ni Kakero 1, Prince of Tennis, Team Astro, & even Blazing Transfer Student).

There was more stuff I had thought about bringing up, but most of it would have been simply name-dropping.  One thing I had thought about mentioning, though the chance never really came up during the conversation, was a personal theory I have on how sports titles are made up & categorized.  Admittedly, though, this theory only really has been fully thought out in terms of boxing titles, but I think it can be applied to other sports, and possibly even sports titles in general, but for now let me ruminate "out loud" about what I like to call "The Three Pillars of Boxing Anime & Manga".

The main idea of the "Three Pillars" is that, when it comes to sports anime & manga, there are three main aspects/focuses that exist: The character-based drama, the action-packed adventure, & the career story.  In choosing what titles would be the "Pillars", I mainly had to consider titles that established these aspects and debuted early enough where they could actually be considered trail-blazers.  Therefore, when it came to boxing there were three that easily came to mind: 1968-1973's Ashita no Joe, 1977-1981's Ring ni Kakero, & 1989-Present's Hajime no Ippo.  Each of these three titles represents one of the aspects of, at the very least, boxing manga & anime, and all three of them have inspired other titles in the same genre, or at least sport.  Looking back there is no title boxing title before Ashita no Joe that is like it, Ring ni Kakero was one of the first manga to really focus on being highly exaggerated, & Hajime no Ippo's immense focus & detail on showcasing the lives & careers of its boxers is something that very few titles have tried to emulate.

Ashita no Joe was truly something special when it debuted.  Joe Yabuki himself was meant to be someone that people who were living in the slums of Japan could relate to, and the overall story of how one person can get out of a rough life and find a way to a better tomorrow is now a story element that is somewhat common.  But where Joe truly excelled in terms of sports titles was that the focus was not simply on the boxing matches themselves, but rather it was mostly about the characters.  Joe, his trainer Danpei Tange, and even fellow boxer Mammoth Nishi were essentially the "good guys", but at the same time Joe's rivals, Rikiishi Tohru, Carlos Rivera, & world champion Jose Mendoza, weren't "bad guys" but rather were simply realistic characters that rivaled Joe in his goals, first being defeating Rikiishi and then becoming a champion-level boxer.  The fact that actual funerals were held in Japan after the deaths of two specific characters are simply the biggest proof of how big of an impact this title has, not just in anime & manga but also Japan itself.  Ashita no Joe, without a doubt, is the "Pillar" of character-drama.

Though the title is highly underrated, underappreciated, and underknown outside of its homeland, in Japan Ring ni Kakero is a highly-influential title.  Before RnK most shonen manga was focused on being realistic and bound within the realism of their focuses, outside of Team Astro, that is.  After RnK debuted manga started becoming more fantastical & unrealistic, and by the mid-80s shonen manga was known for having adventures featuring all sorts of outrageous elements.  RnK's crazy type of boxing was so new to readers that people named it a new genre: "SF/Sci-fi Boxing".  Though the manga was created as an homage to Ashita no Joe, and there are elements of Joe all over it, Masami Kurumada knew that simply copying its style wouldn't do justice to Joe nor would it allow him to create something all his own.  And what Masami Kurumada did, by introducing exaggerated elements that still allowed for some basis in reality (unlike Team Astro, which literally did whatever the hell it wanted), made Ring ni Kakero impactful in many similar ways that Joe was.  Even if you haven't seen or heard of Ring ni Kakero before, you likely know of some of the homages to it: G Gundam's general style, GaoGaiGar's Broken Magnum & Phantom, Prince of Tennis' Tezuka Phantom, SRW's Jet Magnum & Phantom, and even Dudley's (from Street Fighter III) Rolling Thunder & Jet Upper, to name a few (hell, Dudley in general is a reference to the "Three Pillars" by also having Joe's Cross Counter and his Rolling Thunder literally being Ippo's Dempsey Roll).  Ring ni Kakero has definitely earned its spot of the "Pillar" of action-packed fights.

Of the "Three Pillars" only Hajime no Ippo is still running; hell, Ippo debuted eight years after Ring ni Kakero ended but at the same time there isn't any other boxing manga before it, or even after it, that has focused so heavily on the actual careers of its boxers.  I do know of the manga B.B.: Burning Blood, which predates Ippo by four years, but I don't believe B.B. was actually about careers, but rather was more in the style of Ashita no Joe, which I'll get to later.  The fact that creator George Morikawa is such an avid fan on boxing that he has apparently acted as a second to actual boxers in actual matches is really the main reason why Ippo is the uncontested, undisputed champion of career-focused boxing manga.  Ippo is so beloved that to American anime fans it's almost considered a scion that seemingly has flaws.  Admittedly, Ippo is excellent and I do love watching it, but at the same time the title does have its flaws, just like any other title.  It's absolute praise sometimes gets to the point where if a boxing anime is announced that isn't a new season of Ippo fans might complain that the new title is being made "instead of" more Ippo, though the only case where those fans might have had a point would be with Rainbow, which features some boxing and was animated by Madhouse, who also made all of the Ippo anime that has been made.  Still, having that kind of fanbase just shows that, even though it didn't debut until well after its fellow "Pillars", Hajime no Ippo is, without a doubt, the "Pillar" of career story.

And that's my theory of the "Three Pillars of Boxing Anime & Manga".  Though all three debuted as manga this theory also applies to anime, since boxing anime is generally based on manga and is rarely an original creation.  Essentially, the main gist of this theory is that any other boxing manga is taking elements from at least one of these three titles.  For example, the previously-mentioned B.B. is likely about a boxer's career, which "takes" from Ippo, though retroactively, but is, from what I can tell, more of a character-based drama, much like Ashita no Joe.  Mitsuru Adachi's Katsu! takes the man's usual focus on slice-of-life & character relations & mixes it with boxing.  Find almost any boxing title out there and you'll likely find that it is utilizing elements from any of these three titles.  Note that I'm not knocking any of these other titles, though, but rather I'm just showcasing the innovators & inspirations that these other titles came from.  I always love knowing about history, what was popular back in the past, and what were the innovators of what's popular now.  Now, could this theory also apply to other sports?  Probably, but that's also the fun of this theory, as it makes one think about how it can stretch out and apply to other genres & sports.  For example, one could think of the "Three Pillars of Baseball Anime & Manga" as Touch (character drama), Team Astro (action-packed matches), & Major (the career story).

What do you all say?  Do you agree with this theory?  Do you have problems with it?  What do you think would be examples of the "Three Pillars"?  Go ahead & share!

Aoi Tori no Shinwa - Blue Myth Overture: Kurumada Meets Baseball

When it comes to Masami Kurumada, I've covered his major works: Ring ni Kakero 1, Fuma no Kojirou, Saint Seiya (the movies, at least), & B't X.  But that's just in anime, as Kurumada has made many manga outside of those titles.  Unfortunately, outside of Ring ni Kakero 2, which ran from 2000-2008 & lasted 26 volumes, none of his other manga work lasted for any real stretch of time.  His debut serialization, 1974-1975's Sukeban Arashi, only lasted 2 volumes, as did the infamous Silent Knight Sho from 1992 (i.e. Shueisha telling Kurumada "We're canceling Saint Seiya so you can create something just like it!  It'll be another hit!"; Kurumada's response to Sho's quick cancelation? "NEVER END").  Then there is 1984's Otoko Zaka, which Kurumada apparently spent years preparing to write & was supposedly going to be his magnum opus...  It was canceled after three volumes, with the final page saying "未完" (mikan/incomplete) rather than the usual "完" (zen/complete).  After those canceled titles there's his short works & one-shots, like 1979's Mabudachi Jingi, but I'm going to focus on an entry in what Kurumada now calls his "NEVER END HEROES": Short works that looked to be the beginnings of new series, but never lasted long enough to even get one full volume-worth of material.  Though Otoko Zaka & Sho are also considered these, there are two actual books that were actually released under this name, and recently one of these entries was fan scanlated; the first non-Seiya English scanlation in fact!

I looked for a good image without the obi/spine card, but oh well...

While working with Kadokawa Shoten for B't X Kurumada also drew one other manga for the company: 1998's Aoi Tori no Shinwa/Myth of the Blue Bird - Blue Myth Overture, a baseball title.  Since it lasted for two chapters I can't technically call it a "one-shot", but at the same time I'm not sure if this manga was actually canceled or if these two chapters were simply a test to see if any fans were going to be interested, hence the "Overture" part of the sub-title.  Still, at 109 pages it's certainly no slouch of a story...  And you also get some indications as to how much of an inspiration Team Astro was to Kurumada.

Aoi Tendo is a young boy whose pitches are so strong that after hitting the wall the baseballs stick into the ground.  Aoi's present goal is to strike out Shingo Ouki, who set an all-time record at Koshien by hitting 24 consecutive home runs out of the park; Ouki's 24th home run was against Yu Tendo, Aoi's brother who died from cancer shortly after Koshien.  Because of the cancer, though, Yu was only able to give his all on the first pitch, which Ouki was struck out on.  Unfortunately, Aoi, much like his brother, throws pitches that are so strong that no catcher can properly handle them, which is the equivalent of Aoi being a bird with one wing (as Ouki puts it).  Luckily for Aoi, though, a boy named Ai has requested to be Aoi's catcher; Ai has never had the chance to do any sort of harsh exercise in his life, though he has read many books about baseball, but Aoi's pitches reminds him of a story of a blue bird that brings happiness, and is willing to risk his life in order to truly live his life & catch Aoi's harsh pitches.

Aoi Tori no Shinwa's two chapters are both mostly self-contained: Chapter 1, Aoi & Ai, introduces the two main characters and deals with Aoi's goal of striking out Ouki.  Chapter 2, Thunderball, is about Ai teaching Aoi how to throw a forkball (since all Aoi can do are fastballs) and their "battle" against Ryugo Ouki, Shingo's little brother whose specialty is the Sidewinder, a style of batting where the ball flies back at the pitcher's head & then continues on out of the field.  Ryugo feels that he was treated unfairly by his brother in the past due to harsh baseball training that Shingo would force Ryugo to do, so Ryugo is trying to tarnish his prodigy brother's good name by being rough.  Both chapters don't leave much story left behind, outside of Aoi & Ai's goal of winning at Koshien & the reveal that Ai's weak condition has left him with one year left to live (though Aoi doesn't know that).  Chapter 1 ends with Shingo being drafted by the Yomiuri Giants & Chapter 2 ends with the indication that Ryugo will likely join the lead duo in their goal as a friend.  Like the sub-title says, this is all a prologue to what would have been a larger story of the bond of friendship that links Aoi & Ai as well as the possibility of gaining new friends, with baseball being the way all of this plays out. What story is told here works, but since there's nothing else beyond these two chapters it truly is nothing more than a prologue to nothing.  Admittedly, though, I would have liked to seen where Kurumada would have gone with this story, and that's partially because of the type of baseball the second chapter hints at.

Yeah, Aoi's (& Yu's) pitches are so strong that they can knock out catchers & send them flying into the walls behind them, and Ryugo's attempts at hitting Aoi's pitches results in a broken wodden bat & the skin getting ripped off of his hands; Ryugo's repsonse, by the way, is to bandage his hands up and use a metal bat that won't break.  Let's be honest, though, and admit that that kind of stuff is par the course for a Kurumada manga.  What I'm talking about is Aoi's forkball, the Thunderball: This pitch is considered a "miracle ball", and actually breaks the rules of physics by changing direction twice, in a zig-zag pattern, much like how someone would draw a lightning bolt; Ryugo even comments on how the Thunderball can't possibly happen with the rules of physics.  I've read titles like Prince of Tennis, which has a tennis ball do all sorts of things that one would normally be unable to have it do in real life, but at least the ball still follows some sort of physics.  The Thunderball, though, goes into Team Astro territory, where the baseball can do whatever the pitcher seemingly wants it to do.  Personally, I can accept that as I find that kind of stuff entertaining and unpredictable, but considering how the Thunderball's true form appears right at the end of Chapter 2 it comes off as kind of a shock.  From what I could find, though, Masami Kurumada was in fact inspired by Team Astro during it's serialization in the 70s, commenting that he took influence from the titles' ability to "attract" the audience, so the Thunderball is simply Kurumada putting his Team Astro influence at the forefront.

Kurumada's artwork, as usual, has that old-school style to it with enough of a bishonen look to it to possibly attract females.  I can understand how some people may not find Kurumada's look to be "manly" enough for them in some ways, but at the same time I feel that what Kurumada does with his characters more than "makes up" for that.  Masami Kurumada decided to become a mangaka because of his love of the works of Hiroshi Motomiya, probably most well known here as the creator of Salaryman Kintaro.  Motomiya's artwork is that a of gruffer, "manly" style, though not quite to the extent of the likes of a Tetsuo Hara.  Kurumada was also inspired by Sanpei Shirato, the creator of The Legend of Kamui & commonly considered the creator of gekiga, the gritty style that people like Takao Saito & Ryuichi Ikegami have made their careers on, so there's no doubt that Kurumada is a mangaka that employs a "manly" style.  The bishonen-esque artwork that can appeal to females might have been inspired from the likes of Riyoko Ikeda, the creator of The Rose of Versailles; just take one look at Ring ni Kakero's Napoleon Baroa and tell me that his design was not inspired by Lady Oscar.  If anything, Kurumada is a mangaka that requires one to dig deeper than the first look in order to hit the awesome & hot-blooded nougat center.

Aoi's on that cover...  Just ignore Zaji & his awesome scar.

Aoi Tori no Shinwa - Blue Myth Overture is a manga short that looks to have had potential, but seemingly not enough people in Japan bit on the concept to allow it to flourish into a full series.  While Kurumada is more known for his love of contact sports like boxing, wrestling, & MMA baseball is such a large part of Japanese culture that I'm sure he would have made this story an interesting one to read, and if the Thunderball is any indication the pitches that would have come from this title would have truly been entertaining & unpredictable.  That said, this is truly only for fans of Masami Kurumada to check out.  If you really want to own this short, though, there are two prints of it out there: The original 1998 release by Kadokawa Shoten & the 2001 re-release by Shueisha where it takes second-place to Raimei no Zaji in the book NEVER END HEROES (1).  As a fan of Kurumada, though, it's great to see something of his that's not related to Saint Seiya get scanlated into English & I do know that the group who did this translation has plans to also do another short, so hopefully this will just be the start of something awesome.

Hareluya II BØY: Pray to His Back, FØØLS!

Haruto Umezawa is one of those mangaka that North American fans likely don't know of, but I can honestly see have a bit of a fanbase over here if his titles were more well known.  He started off in the industry as an assistant to Tsukasa Hojo and then broke out on his own with Hareluya, a manga about the son of God who is sent down to live as a human in order to learn humility; I sent in a short review of that manga for ANN's Right Turn Only!, and it was posted this past September.  Hareluya ended (read: likely canceled) after only one volume, but Umezawa seemingly felt that his characters had potential so he gave it another go with a reboot: Hareluya II BØY, which removed the whole "son of God" angle and instead treated Hareluya as a normal human...  Well, as "normal" as a character like him can be.  BØY became a very successful title for Shonen Jump, even becoming a Top 3 title a few times, and ran from 1992-1999, totaling 33 volumes, his longest title to date still (though his presently-running Lamboughini racing manga Countach is slowly nearing that number).  Throughout 1997 Triangle Staff, a now-defunct studio whose biggest titles were Magic User's Club, Macross Plus, & Serial Experiments Lain, made an animated TV adaptation of Hareluya II BØY that ran in the early days of "modern-day" late-night anime, also making it the first late-night Jump anime.  Unfortunately, this anime is extremely obscure & rare but it's also one of the most unique anime productions to come from the pages of Shonen Jump.

Kiyoshiro Okamoto is just starting his time at Rakuen High School and has only one dream: To go to Paris and become a painter; he even secretly breaks Rakuen's rules and works part-time at a construction site so that he can save money for the trip.  One night on his way home he gets harassed by Shozou Momiyama, the "leader" of Rakuen's delinquents, but is saved by Hareluya Hibino, a classmate of his who was suspended on the first day of school for beating up come upperclassmen.  Hareluya's dream is a simple one: World Domination.  Shortly afterwards the duo meet two of their classmates: Michiru Yamana, a girl who dreams of becoming a jewelry designer & sells her work on the street, & Makoto Ichijou, who fronts his own band, Fire Guns, and dreams of becoming a rock star.  Together the four of them will support each other & help out those who are in trouble.

Hareluya II BØY is an interesting mix of genres.  Characters like Hareluya & Ichijou can technically be considered delinquents, but at the same time they aren't anything like Taison from Rokudenashi BLUES or Bouya Harumichi from Crows (BØY's characters dress better, for one).  Hareluya & the gang help people out, like Gin-san Odd Jobs & the Sket-dan do in Gintama & Sket Dance, respectively, but BØY's characters aren't doing it mostly for a job or as an extra-curricular thing in school but instead help others out solely because they are kind-hearted people (Hareluya to a certain extent).  There are a fair number of fights in this title but they aren't enough of a focus to call this a battle title.  Finally, there seems to be a sense of characters living their everyday lives in this title (granted, as "everyday" as their lives can be), but you also can't call this a slice of life title in any way.  All of this does end up making Hareluya II BØY a pretty identifiable title within the history of Jump, though.

Much like a delinquent title, though, BØY's real appeal is through its characters.  Let's just get the main attraction out of the way first & talk about Hareluya Hibino himself.  Hareluya is rude, brash, cocky, self-conceited, arrogant, & egotistical on the surface, commonly calling himself "Ore-sama" & "Invincible", but beneath that he is also kind, well-meaning, trustworthy, self-sacrificing (he takes the most physical abuse in the show, no doubt), and even benevolent.  For example, in episode 21 Hareluya at first doesn't want to help Yamana's friend who's in trouble since he has nothing to do with her but decides to help solely because Yamana wants to help her, and anything that's important to Hareluya's friends is important to him..  Hareluya nearly steals every scene he is in, and he knows it, and is, appropriately, the biggest reason to watch the show.  Kiyoshiro is not exactly a strong-in-muscle boy, but his convictions & guts more than make up for that and he ends up usually being the first person who tries to stop any wrongdoings.  Yamana isn't much of a fighter, though she does throw some good blows every once in a while, but she does a great job as the string that helps tie the group together.  Ichijou is the mostly level-headed one of the group in that he isn't quite as impulsive as Kiyoshiro but also is not rude like Hareluya, but is easily the second-strongest in the group, right behind Hareluya.  This main gang generally has very good chemistry and you get a true sense of camaraderie from them.

There are some reoccurring characters to mention, as well.  Momiyama is first introduced as an antagonist, but in reality is an occasional fifth member to the group, bringing some very nice physical comedy & having great information that the gang can utilize, and he can also fight his way out of trouble when the need arises.  Harebare Hibino, a priest, is Hareluya's father and mostly works as a final voice of reason as well as giving some funny moments between him & his son.  Bob-jiisan is a street-side painter with long dreadlocks who doesn't appear too often but generally is entertaining when he is utilized.  Finally, there's Reiko Ibu, a female delinquent who, like Momiyama, first appears as an antagonist but later helps the gang out near the end.  These recurring characters only add to the already entertaining chemistry that the main gang has.

BØY is a show with no real long-running story arc, but rather is full of short stories; nearly every episode is its own story, and BØY differs from most Jump titles of this sort by actually dealing with, or at least insinuating, some pretty heavy material.  For example, episode 7 deals with a female friend of Ichijou's who admits to have been forced to be intoxicated and have lewd pictures taken of her and her attempts at escaping from the people who do this to her (Ibu is introduced in this story).  Episode 14 focuses on Shizuka, Momiyama's little sister, who is captured by a stalker who wants nothing but to cut her up and see her beautiful insides.  In episode 15 Ichijou is attempting to escape with his life in a literal game of manhunt (the hunter has an actual crossbow & bolts) while handcuffed to Ibu, who was unknowingly roped into the game.  That's not to say that BØY doesn't have more upbeat & lighter episodes, though, because it does, like episode 6, which has Momiyama talk Kiyoshiro into having Yamana, who he is starting to have feelings for, go on a date with Momiyama, though Kiyoshiro is dragged into the date as well for support.

The best stories, though, are definitely the four multi-parters: Episodes 4 & 5 deal with Bob-jiisan and his past involving a once thought-lost painting that's now priceless.  Episodes 9 & 10 focus on a baseball team from a rival school, lead by beanballing pitcher Junichi Hidou, who is injuring members of Rakuen's baseball team & making it all seem like Rakuen's star player, Yuichi Honjou, is behind it; episode 10 is a rough baseball game between Hidou's team & Honjou, who has gathered Hareluya & the gang for help.  Episodes 18-20 are about Reiji Marukido, the spoiled son of a rich businessman/yakuza who always gets his way by way of his giant bodyguard (a former boxer who once killed an opponent), and his kidnapping of Yamana because she didn't like his advances; coincidentally, all of Reiji's actions in the second half of the story seem to indicate that he wants to rape her (literally, he throws her onto a bed, takes off his shirt & jacket, and was even trying to lick her before that!).  As an aside, this is the story arc where Kiyoshiro truly becomes a man that protects what's most important to him.  Finally, episodes 22-24 focus on Taro Momoyama, a notorious fighting game child prodigy who thinks up a variation that uses actual people for profit.  These multi-parters obviously benefit from having more time to tell their stories & develop the people that are introduced solely for these episodes.

Even though it's meant to mostly be based on reality BØY does have its silly parts to it.  For example, Hareluya has the Doraemon-esque ability to pull objects from behind his back, but whereas in the original manga Hareluya only pulls out either a frying pan or a metal baseball bat the anime has no such restrictions, though the two are still the main two he pulls out.  Throughout the 25 episodes of this anime Hareluya pulls out objects such as bowling balls, an electric guitar, a giant fan, a torrent of BBs that he sucks up and spits out like a machine gun, and, at one point, even Momiyama himself, among other objects!  Even though this is absolutely ridiculous stuff, it does add to the fun-factor of the title, and the reactions that the characters have to Hareluya's hammerspace-pulling ability just adds to it.  Also, the show does poke fun at itself by having Ichijou pull out a frying pan from behind Hareluya's back a couple of times, with Hareluya naturally getting annoyed.

If there is one main problem with the show, though, it's the time that it aired in.  Those early days of what we now call late-night anime were notorious for being light on budget, and it does show in Hareluya II BØY.  While the show doesn't look horrible by any means there are moments where the lower budget does show itself, with odd character drawings in some shots, shots being repeated to save money, and some moments of limited animation.  Also, this show features some pretty blatant music label promotion.  I commonly like to bring up the original Eat-Man opening footage, or lack thereof, as a great example of blatant promotion, but Hareluya is a close second, with its opening footage having absolutely nothing to do with the show itself, outside of Hareluya appearing in it; it's honestly more like a (very cool looking) music video for the song itself than an actual opening for the anime.  The first ending theme footage was even more blatant, with the first episode showing nothing but the group itself; luckily, the studio wised up quickly and made the footage mostly recap of the episode itself from episode 2 on (the second ending theme footage is all about the anime).  Also, the opening theme, both ending themes, & SIX insert themes are all performed by the same group, SPYKE.  Unfortunately, these songs were made during SPYKE's short-lived time with King Records, during which they released only two singles & no albums, which essentially made all of this promotion via the anime pointless.  At least the anime did utilize SPYKE's songs well, even having the group act as the sound of the Fire Guns in the three episodes where Ichijou actually played with his band, ala how HUMMING BIRD was the sound of Fire Bomber in Macross 7.

BØY was directed by Kiyoshi Egami (director of City Hunter '91 & storyboarder of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX through Zexal), but the real name to focus on this anime is that of Yasuhiro Imagawa (director of Giant Robo, G Gundam, Shin Mazinger, & Tetsujin 28 [2004]), who was the overall series composer & wrote the script for about half of the episodes.  Imagawa's composing & scriptwriting credits, which includes the likes of Bartender, Berserk TV, Souten no Ken, & Violinist of Hameln, aren't as well-known as his directorial work, but his style is still noticeable in BØY.  It certainly explains some of the more ridiculous moments in the show, including the final episode's absolutely unbelievable (but entertaining as hell) climax, though he didn't write the script himself for that episode.  The character designs were done by Takahiro Kishida (of Durarara!!, Baccano!, & Madokda Magica fame), who does a nice job of adapting Haruto Umezawa's Tsukasa Hojo-inspired sleek drawing style.  The music was done by Shingo Kobayashi, with this being his only anime soundtrack work (though he has done anime theme arrangement & composition), and it's a nice mix of lighter beats & rougher songs, with the best ones being awesome rock renditions of classical music like Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D minor &, obviously, Handel's Hallelujah Chorus (Handel's version is also used a couple of times).

As I mentioned, SPYKE's music is all over this show...  And it's a shame that they never got an album out with King Records, because all nine songs are awesome & really show the range this group could do.  The opening theme, Tight-Break, has a great addictive sound to it and, combined with the cool looking footage, makes it an opening that I rarely skipped.  The ending themes, Words of Free & Closet Freak, are mostly opposites of each other, with Words of Free being high-energy & Closet Freak being slower-paced, and though both are great ending themes, I prefer Closet Freak.  The insert themes, AFTER, Before Lies, Breath, egoistic, EVE, & HEAT IN MOTION, are likewise varied in sound, with some being slower-paced ballads and others being high-energy rock songs.  Before Lies & HEAT IN MOTION, though, are the best of the bunch, in my opinion, fitting the scenes they were used in perfectly; in fact, Before Lies was such a great "climax to a fight" song that it was used for that purpose in two separate episodes.  Also, the vocaless versions of AFTER, Before Lies, & EVE were even utilized as parts of the soundtrack at times, also fitting very nicely when used.  I was really surprised by how good this band was, so it's kind of sad to know that they broke up shortly after this anime finished airing.  Luckily, all nine SPYKE songs are featured on the two anime OSTs that were released, Hareluya of the First & Hareluya on the Second...  Unfortunately, these two OSTs are pretty rare & expensive now, which sucks because I'd love to have the entire soundtrack to this show.

The cast also pulls out a great job, and features some lesser-known seiyuu.  Hareluya is voiced by the venerable Shinichiro Miki, who performs the character perfectly, combining both an air of cockiness & benevolence.  Ichijou is voiced by Katsuaki Arima/Yusei Oda (Kurokage in The Law of Ueki, Dorado Spear in Saint Seiya Omega), and he likewise pulls off a great job, with this being one of his few major roles in his career.  Yamana is voiced by Urara/Naoko Miura (Safine in Cybuster TV, Sumire in Z-Mind), and she does a very nice job as the character, with this being one of Miura's few major roles.  Kiyoshiro is voiced by Yuji Ueda (Akito in Nadesico, Sanosuke in Rurouni Kenshin), and his performace captures Kiyoshiro perfectly: Gutsy & hot-blooded, but with a hint of scratchiness & whine in his voice.  Ibu is voiced by Hiromi Tsuru (Bulma in Dragon Ball, Meryl in Trigun), and she does a great job as the oldest (sometimes) member of the gang.  Finally, Momiyama is voiced by Koyoyuki Yanada (Thymilph in Gurren Lagann, Akagi in Slam Dunk), and he delivers a nice mix of rough & tough attitude but also kindheartedness that the character shows off.  With so many different stories in this show it would be impossible to list everyone else, so I'll end off with the likes of Nobuyuki Hiyama (Hidou), Hiro Yuuki (Honjou), Kazuki Yao (Reiji Marukido), & Fumihiko Tachiki (Bob-jiisan).

Hareluya II BØY is kind of a mystery to properly categorize.  It has elements of delinquent, slice of life, comedy, & battle anime, but it isn't exactly any of that but rather an interesting & entertaining mix of all of them.  Also, some of the subject matter the show deals with is definitely stuff that would make this impossible to air in anything but late-night, but at the same time it results in the show having a limited budget that does hurt it slightly, but overall it's a really interesting kind of Shonen Jump anime and well worth checking out...  Is what I'd normally say, but I can't in good conscience recommend watching the show as it is available right now.  In Japan the show only received a VHS & LD release, both of which are now rare & hard to collect in full, and the only raws out there digitally come from a very rough chinese TV airing.  The video & audio is far from ideal, with many glitches, there's a channel watermark in the top-left of each episode, every episode has hard-encoded Chinese subtitles, and two of the episodes (6 & 12) feature Chinese audio.  But the worst problem of all is that a good number of the episodes have audio problems where a portion of the audio is skipped over, leading to the second half of those episodes having out of sync audio.  There are fansubs of the first three episodes that have slightly better-quality video & audio & no watermarks, but they still feature the hard-encoded Chinese subtitles.  As it is right now, I begrudgingly just can't recommend hunting for the raws of this show, unless you're willing to deal with the problems I mentioned above and are willing to fix the syncing problems a number of the episodes have, like I was.  I was lucky enough to get two of the LDs, which allowed me to watch eight of the episodes in great quality, and it let me watch episodes 6 & 12 in the original Japanese audio, but I was lucky...  I can't say the same for everyone.

The lack of a DVD release really hurts this show's availability in general, and it's really annoying that this show is stuck in such an obscure position.  When I looked at the first couple years of late-night anime I saw that Hareluya II BØY was one of only two titles that were never licensed for North American release; I have no idea why BØY never got released on VHS over here, but it's a shame.  Luckily, there might be hope of a better release in the future:  Shueisha has been releasing budget-priced DVDs that feature the first episodes of many Jump anime & the fourth DVD, which comes out this month, will feature the first episode of Hareluya II BØY, marking the very first time any portion of this show has received a DVD release.  There could be a chance that Starchild, the anime division of King Records, is allowing Shueisha to include BØY on this DVD so that they can gauge present interest in the show, and if they feel it's worth it they might finally give the show a DVD release.  It would obviously be too expensive for me to feel comfortable buying (damn R2 DVD pricing!), but at least there would be better raws out there for it then, and then I could recommend full-heartedly to check this show out.  As it is right now this show, though awesome & definitely worth the watch, is also viewer beware.

Has the "Era of Old-School" Hit the R1 Anime Industry?

No doubt you've heard of the insanity that Discotek unleashed on anime fans by announcing that they've licensed both the original Cutey Honey TV series from 1973 as well the original Mazinger Z TV series from 1972-1974.  Discotek has just been riding a crazy train of awesomeness by continually announcing cool old-school license after old-school license, plus some more recent fare every now & then, but Discotek is not the only company who has been reaching into the well & pulling out old-school anime.  With these two new licenses I'm starting to wonder: Has the Region 1/North American anime industry hit a point where the old adage of "Old Anime Doesn't Sell" actually is being proven wrong?

Think about it for a second or two...  While Discotek is certainly making their living on old-school, they aren't the only ones.  Right Stuf, under their Nozomi label, recently announced that they will be releasing shojo classic The Rose of Versailles next year, no doubt because their previous releases of old-school favorite Dirty Pair has sold well, not to mention license rescues like Gasaraki & Nadesico.  Sentai Filmworks dumbfounded many by licensing the Ghost Sweeper Mikami TV series that aired in the early 90s, but it apparently sold well enough to make "Mr. I Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny" David Williams state a couple of times at cons that Sentai was looking into doing the Mikami movie that Manga Entertainment released more than a decade ago (and also state that "old-school does not start at 2009"), not to mention that Sentai will be releasing the last set of Psychic Squad (a.k.a. Zettai Karen Children) next month, which is based on the manga made by Takashi Shiina, creator of GS Mikami.  Anime Midstream has been beating the odds for the past three years & surviving solely on occasional releases of Matchless Raijin-Oh.  Shout! Factory has listened to Transformers fans & released all three of the Takara/Toei-produced Transformers entries (The Headmasters, Super God Masterforce, & Victory), and recent Amazon & DVD Empire solicitations have revealed that S!F is trying their hands at 70s mech anime Daiku Maryu Gaiking by releasing the 2009-produced trio of compilation movies that William Winckler Productions made for Toei.  And then there's Discotek, who has already given fans all of Fist of the North Star TV, once thought impossible after Manga's original DVD release, proven that Lupin can sell by releasing the Episode 0: First Contact special, the original TV series, & have The Secret of Mamo movie (with all four English dubs in tow!) and the Green vs. Red OVA in the works, with more Lupin in the future.  And for next year Discotek is giving us the likes of Saint Seiya (Movies 1-4), Captain Harlock TV, Kyattou Ninden Teyandee (alongside the more beloved Samurai Pizza Cats dub adaptation), the previously-mentioned Cutey Honey & Mazinger Z, and a good number of license rescues (as well as some more recent fare, like Love Com & Shin Getter vs. Neo Getter).

Years ago, it was seemingly common knowledge that old-school fare was to be left to the wayside while more recent fare was to be the main focus of licensing; while that school of thought isn't gone exactly and is still the main focus, the past three years or so have seemingly made it known that old-school is not to be forgotten, but rather is to be cherished & celebrated.  Companies have now made their existences, for the most part, on old-school and are becoming important fixtures in the anime industry here in North America.  I guess the only thing left to say is "Why?"  Why has old-school seemingly become a sustainable business venture nowadays?  Well I think there are three main reasons: Cost, Age, & Content.

When I say "cost" I mean a few things.  First, ever since the anime indsutry's bubble burst back in 2006/2007 licensing costs have certainly gone down from their insane highs, and that has likely applied to older anime as well.  Also, companies have realized that not every title needs a dub to sell, which lowers costs substantially since dubs easily cost more than any other part of DVD/BD production; FUNimation is, in fact, the only company that still dubs everything new they do, but even they have brought up the notion of doing sub-only releases on rare occasion at cons (most recently a few weeks ago at Anime Weekend Atlanta).  Finally, license rescues are a very appealing thing to do, since they usually come with already-done subtitles from the last company that had it and some even have dubs to include, but this obviously only applies to license rescues.  Still, the overall fact is that costs have gone down, and that makes something like an old-school anime less risky to do than it used to look.

When I say "age" I mean that a generational shift has happened.  While not everyone who was into anime during the bubble days, which started roughly a decade ago at most, is still following the medium those that have weathered the rough post-bubble days, like myself, are now older.  They are older fans who now have a larger disposable income than when they were younger, and with age comes understanding.  When people are younger they mainly want to focus on what's new & "fresh", but when they get older they realize that what was once "new" to them is now "old", just like the titles of the previous generation; with that realization comes the appreciation & willingness to try older stuff out that they originally didn't want to when they were younger.  They can follow the new stuff if it interests them but at the same time they realize that there's a whole other world out there for them check out.

Finally, when I say "content" I mean that the titles we get now aren't exactly the same stuff we got back then. Sure, some things will never change across time, but it's hard to say that most of the new anime we have been getting for the past couple of years is the same exact stuff that was being made thirty, twenty, or even ten years ago.  I'm not saying what's better or anything like that, but the fact remains that not everyone likes what is being made nowadays.  So why force yourself to watch something that you don't enjoy when you can go back to the past and watch something that might fancy your attention more?  Some fans are perfectly fine with what's being made, and that's fine...  All the more power to them.  But, at the same time, there is a void that exists and what was once a relatively small niche that was too risky to take a chance on has now become somewhat larger & less risky to try out.  An era of anime fans have gotten older, and with that there is now a "new" (as in old) market to appeal to.

This is the cover DVD Empire is using right now ; when Shout! reveals an official cover I'll change this

I, for one, am glad to see this upswing in old-school anime licensing.  Even as a new fan of anime (i.e. when i was 18-21) I quickly found an appeal in watching older anime and I was more than happy to buy some older anime releases.  But when I realized that I wanted to help support the anime industry that exists in the country I call my home I started to feel a little hesitant at buying these out-of-print releases, because while it let me watch a show in a more legal form it also didn't put any money into the companies that once released these titles; buying those OOP releases were simply helping the people who were selling them.  But with license rescues a title gets a second (or, on rare occassion, third) chance at making money, and with licenses like GS Mikami, Mazinger, & Raijin-Oh you actually get a chance to watch these shows with complete subtitles for the very first time.  It's become an exciting time for the anime industry here in North America, and I can't wait to find out what might come next.

Kochikame the Movie 2: UFO Shuurai! Tornado Daisakusen!!: Even Here, Tokyo Tower Isn't Safe...

Yeah, Kochikame is still running in Weekly Shonen Jump, and this year hit chapter 1,750 & Volume 180.  And there is still no indication that we'll ever get any form of Kochikame in North America...  Which is just sad, because this is funny and entertaining stuff.  I reviewed 1999's Kochikame the Movie last year and it was a great mix of seriousness & comedy, and the fact that there were official English subtitles made for it when it was released on DVD was just awesome.  In December 2003, one year before the TV anime series ended, Studio Gallop (now simply called Gallop) made one last animated movie for the series, subtitled UFO Shuurai! Tornado Daisakusen!!/UFO Attack! The Great Tornado Strategy!!, and even though it doesn't have any official subtitles, or English subtitles of any sort, it beats out the first movie in every way.

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The officers of the Kameari Park police box in Katsushika Ward are going on a vacation to Hawaii...  Except for Ryo-san, who was forbidden from going on vacation after a money scam involving a crop circle & fake UFO landing went wrong.  Of course, that doesn't stop Ryo-san from sneaking onto the plane and getting to Hawaii, since he's interested in visiting Tappei Tanaka, an old friend from school who loved UFOs & moved to Hawaii when they were kids.  Upon getting to Tappei's home Ryo-san is told that Tappei died 10 years after getting involved in a mysterious project for NASA, who Tappei worked for, but after noticing the man himself get kidnapped by a group of terrorists lead by a large man named Tiger & a large UFO-shaped object starts creating tornadoes over Tokyo it's up to Ryo-san, & the Katsushika Police Squad, to save the day...  But tagging along for the ride is Mina, Tappei's daughter, who after realizing that her father is alive wants to see him again.

Kochikame the Movie 2 utilizes a similar mix of seriousness & comedy like the first movie, but Movie 2 definitely edges more towards the comedy side; in fact, the villians aren't introduced until about 30 minutes into the movie, allowing the main characters to enjoy their trip to Hawaii & letting Ryo-san go inadvertently crazy in a foreign country; literally, Ryo-san causes a multi-car accident in from the airport, followed by him leading the Hawaiian police on a chase while he's riding a bicycle, not to mention him accidentally sinking a cruise ship with a single grenade (because Ryo-san can do anything).  That's not to say that the serious moments suffer in any way, though, because, if anything, the larger focus on comedy makes the serious moments feel all the more impactful.  There just seemed to be more at stake in this movie, especially since there is a lot more visible danger brought about by the sheer destruction that the UFO's tornadoes can cause, and that really let the serious moments sink in all the stronger when compared to how the first movie operated.  But, like the first movie, Movie 2 also ends with a hilarious climax where Ryo-san creates accidental destruction around Tokyo, this time in a way that would make Godzilla proud...  And, like I mentioned in the tagline, even Tokyo Tower isn't safe from the accidental warpath Ryo-san goes on.

But that altered mix of seriousness & comedy isn't the only reason why Movie 2 surpasses the first.  The other big reason is because this movie actually utilizes Kochikame's other characters in very useful ways.  The first movie was definitely all about Ryo-san & Lisa Hoshino, while the other reoccurring characters were seemingly along for the ride and not much more than that.  Movie 2, on the other hand, lets these characters shine, and you really get to see more from these other characters.  A great example would be the Katsushika Police duo of Sakonji, a martial arts freak, & Bolbo, a munitions freak & obvious Golgo 13 homage; in the first movie they had one short scene involving Nakagawa, but in Movie 2 they get more focus and are actually utilized fairly often in the second half.  Though Nakagawa & Reiko, the two major characters behind Ryo-san, aren't given too much more to do than they had in the first movie, they at least are featured more prominently in Movie 2 and actually contribute in their own ways.  And Honda, the soft-spoken officer who becomes a badass when he gets on his motorcycle, is utilized in a similar extended fashion.  It's just great to see Kochikame's lineup of oddballs utilized in a much more effective way than they were in the first movie.

That just leaves the movie-exclusive characters, and there's really three major ones of note.  Tappei Tanaka is your usual inventor whose great invention is used for evil purposes against his will, but he maintains a great sense of self-esteem and is willing to risk his life in order to help Ryo-san & his daughter; in fact, Tappei gets some really nice moments in the second half that shows him off as not just a great friend but also a great, but admittedly inexperienced, father.  In theory having Mina be Ryo-san's "partner" for this movie shouldn't work, but ths movie actually utilized her very well by having her be smart-mouthed, assertive, & not be annoying in ways that a character like her would normally be utilized.  Finally, there's Tiger, the antagonist, who makes an entertaining bad guy, but in true Kochikame fashion Tiger's true motive for destroying Tokyo is absolutely hilarious and one that you wouldn't see coming.  These three fit in just fine with the Kochikame world, and the other movie-exclusive characters work really well for their purposes as well.  Much like the first movie I can't really find anything bad to say about Movie 2, and it just exceeds the first movie in every fashion.

Shinji Takamatsu is once again in the director's chair for Movie 2, and the animation is even better, no doubt showcasing the improvement in animation the TV series saw during its 7 year run; on a side note, though, I'm almost positive that Reiko's breasts have doubled in size in Movie 2, when compared to the first movie, to the point where it actually grabs your attention more than it should.  Similarly, the rest of the major staff has also been retained, so it's not really worth bringing them up as well here.  The ending theme, which is also the second-to-last ending theme to the TV series, is Katare! Namida! by SEX MACHINEGUNS...  And though the song is awesome this group's hard rock style is actually kind of an odd choice for Kochikame, though I guess it works well at fitting the moments when the Katsushika Police Force are being utter badasses.  There is also an insert theme, Missin' you by Aya Hirayama (Mina's seiyuu), and it's a nice song for the two moments it's used in.

The main cast naturally reprises their roles, with Lasar/LaSalle Ishii once again showing why he is the one & only true voice of Ryo-san, so this time I'll give some credit to some of the other major character voices.  Yumi Morio's Reiko is similar to Ishii's Ryo-san in that she does such a great job that it's like Morio is Reiko, and Haruki Sayama is the same with "Buchou" Daijiro Ohara.  Honda is voiced by Hiroshi Yanaka, who has great range in being able to do soft-spoken people, like Ishida in Kaiji, as well as hot-blooded men, like Tetsuya Tsurugi in MazinKaiser, so he does an excellent job at voicing a character who can be either one at any moment.  Bolbo is voiced by Yuuji Kishi (the voice of Street Fighter's Ken Masters ever since SF III: 3rd Strike), and he does a great job at doing at being a Golgo homage/parody (i.e. where Golgo is unemotional & cold-blooded, Bolbo's nose erupts blood at the sight of a woman & is easily agitated when shot at).  Sakonji is voiced by Masami Iawasaki (Drake Anderson from Read or Die, Alfonso from Gunslinger Girl), and like Kishi does a very fitting performance for a stoic martial arts practitioner.  Aya Hirayama was obviously chosen to voice Mina solely so that she could sing a song for the movie, but she does a very admirable job, and in fact her performance gives a very convincing "foreigner speaking Japanese" vibe, which works because Mina was born in Hawaii and never visited Japan before (whether that was Hirayama's intent or not is unknown to me).  Finishing off the major cast is Katsuhisa Namase (mostly a live-action actor, though he voiced some characters in the early Fatal Fury games) as Tiger & Masayuki Watanabe as Tappei (with this being his sole anime role), and both do equally great performances for their characters.

Kochikame the Movie 2 is simply the better of the two animated Kochikame movies (there is a more-recent live-action movie that uses the cast of the more-recent live-actio TV series).  It mixes together seriousness & comedy in a better fashion that makes each element work better in relation to each other, actually utilizes Kochikame's other characters in ways that make them stand out in their own ways, and simply tells a more entertaining story.  That doesn't mean that you should skip the first movie & go straight to Movie 2, though, as the first movie is still a great production, not to mention actually has English subtitles.  Also, like I mentioned in my review of the first movie, both movies actually still have some fair value to them.  I bought the Movie 2 DVD via Rakuten, which tends to have cheaper prices, and even there I had to pay about $25 for the movie.  In my first list of anime I would license the Kochikame movies as a double-pack was the very first thing I mentioned, and watching Movie 2 really just reaffirms my feeling that, at the very least, we should get the Kochikame movies brought over the North America.  Taken together the first movie does a great job at showing off Ryo-san, and Movie 2 likewise does a great job showcasing some of the other reoccurring characters, making them a great introduction to Kochikame for anime fans over here.  Both movies were distributed by TOHO, so that's likely the company to go for these movies, and if a company wanted to be a little more gutsy they could have both movies dubbed; they only total to 203 minutes/~3.5 hours, afterall.  It is sad that Kochikame, with it's more visual comedy-oriented style, continues to be ignored over here, and these movies are great examples of what we're missing out on here in North America.