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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 5.11 - FEBRUARY 2001
New from Japan: Anime Film Reviewsby Fred Patten Around 1995, Japanese animation (anime) began pouring into North America, Europe and across the globe in video form. Most of these titles were unknown outside of Japan and never covered by animation journals. Whether a title is highly popular or very obscure, a high-quality theatrical feature or a cheap and unimaginative direct-to-video release, they all look the same on a store shelf. Therefore, Animation World Magazine will regularly review several new releases (including re-releases not previously covered) that have some merit and about which our readers should know. Jubei-chan, the Ninja Girl: Secret of the Lovely Eyepatch. V.1,
A Legend Reborn. V.2, Basic Ninja Training. V.3, Heart of Steel. V.4,
Final Showdown!
Jubei Yagyu (1606-1650) was a skilled samurai and personal swordmaster to the Shogun's court whose successes over his rivals were rumored to be due as much to assassination and political intrigue as to unbeatable swordsmanship. In this wacky 13-episode fantasy series (April 6 - June 28, 1999 on Japanese TV), the dying Jubei (who was one-eyed) entrusts his "lovely eyepatch" with the mystic powers of his Yagyu-Shinkage school of dueling to a young faithful retainer, Koinosuke, to give to his destined successor. Koinosuke searches Japan for over 300 years, and is dumbfounded when the heir turns out to be Jiyu Nanohana (nicknamed Jubei), a bubbly young teen who has just moved with her father to a small town and entered high school. Jiyu is only interested in modern young girl stuff and tries to refuse the eyepatch. But the town was the center of the Ryujoji-Shinkage school, one of Jubei's suppressed rivals. The supernatural confirmation of Jiyu as Jubei's heir draws the Ryujoji spirits to seek their revenge. Jiyu is challenged to duels to the death by possessed schoolteachers (the screen switches from standard TV-cartoon format to letterboxed to simulate a dramatic battle in a theatrical samurai feature). Shiro Ryujoji, a handsome senior who is his clan's modern heir, finds himself torn between love for Jiyu and a compulsion to duel Jubei. The series begins as pure zany slapstick humor, but slowly evolves toward a serious message about living for the present and future without obsessing on past wrongs. A single scene may mix attractively designed main characters, goofily drawn comedy-relief characters (a deadly ninja wears Mouse Ears over his traditional black costume), and scrawled characters with dialogue like, "Oh, Hell! We're drawn so badly that you know we're gonna get wiped out almost immediately." A middle episode is an unexpected completely serious three-hanky tearjerker. The bizarre blend permits many imaginative new ways to take advantage of limited animation. But Jubei-chan will leave most non-Japanese viewers completely confused over the distinction between samurai and ninja. Animation production by Madhouse.
Tenamonya Voyagers. This is a good example of the pros and cons of Original Anime Video series. "Rated 13 Up;" in this case an adolescent space comedy. In the distant future the whole galaxy is settled by mankind. Ayako Hanabishi, a naive new teacher, and Wakana Nanamiya, a student on an athletic scholarship, are two young women stranded on the planet Meldonia when their school closes. They just want to get home to Earth, a backwater planet on the other side of the galaxy. They meet Paraila, another student wanting to get to Earth, who suggests they pool their resources and travel together. But she is really Space Trash Paraila, a boss of an interstellar crime syndicate who is on the run after her takeover coup failed. Both the mob's assassins and Tatsue Yokoyama, the trigger-happy head of the Organized Crime Unit of the Space Federation Police, are after her. Paraila's attempt to blend in with the demure schoolteacher and her ward immediately fails. The group quickly turns into a humorously squabbling Odd Trio hopping from planet to planet ahead of their adversaries, trying to reach Earth by getting a spaceship, legally or otherwise. Their schemes (such as entering a battle contest on a gambling world) usually get the girls into extremely scanty costumes, with Tetsue hot on their heels with giant robots, rayguns and similar heavy artillery. For girls, Tenamonya Voyagers offers a dynamic female cast with which to identify. For boys, it offers more T&A than will be found in TV or theatrical productions, plus plenty of Star Wars-style space battles (all bloodless). BUT (spoiler) there is no resolution. The final episode ends on a cliffhanger with the girls still far from Earth. No reason is given, but you can bet these four direct-to-video episodes failed to sell and the rest of the planned series was cancelled -- like too many other unresolved anime "movies" released in America from failed OAV series because their licenses were cheap. Too bad, because these four episodes are high-spirited and really funny (a beautifully-designed sleek futuristic train has the sound effects of an old steam locomotive); worth the price despite the lack of a conclusion. An additional bonus is the opening credits music by Hiroshi Miyagawa (best-known in America for his music for the 1970s Star Blazers); a peppy ragtime march that would have fit a 1930s naval review. Animation production by Studio Pierrot.
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