Forum - View topicShelf Life - Space Invaders [2015-06-01]
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yuna49
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They did a better job of portraying the roadhouse than they did with the geography of Houston. At one point Mutta takes public transport to the Johnson Space Center, which is miles outside of town and would take hours to reach in real-life. At first it seems Hibito only rides his bike, which would be impossible in Houston. But later we see him with the official badge of the astronaut corps, a Corvette Stingray convertible. Hibito's looks to be vintage 1965, too. Must have cost him a pretty penny. Who knew astronauts made that kind of money. |
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Trypticon
 Posts: 80 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
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I’m pretty confident that someone around here will do a full out review of Wanna be the Strongest in the World at some point after the official release of the boxset. Regardless, since it was brought up in this article, I suppose I will share my opinions and thoughts about Wanna be the Strongest in the World, or as some of the alternate names I have; “How to suck at Wrestling” or “Wanna be the Biggest Masochist in the World.”
No you can’t. Even though I'm late for the party in posting here; I'm going to do this anyways. I’d like to start off by saying I watched about half this series as it aired then the other half after it finished, so it has been a while since I last watched it. So I’m going to get right to the point, then after, if people want to read my intellectual masturbatory ramblings; they’re free to do so. I’m going to be honest, I do like Wanna be the Strongest in the World and I found it entertaining as I watched it; it’s a pretty decent and fun show, I do actually have it on order. Before everyone goes off thinking I have poor taste in anime understand my wording; I said a “pretty decent and fun” show, and that I found it entertaining; there’s good reason for this. That brings me to my second major point; while I like this series, enjoyed watching it and call it “pretty decent” I was also very underwhelmed and considerably disappointed due to what I feel is, wasted potential in terms of everything Wanna be the Strongest in the World could’ve done in all of its departments. I made the mistake of having some expectations because of other shows I had viewed with excessive levels of ecchi fan service still managing to be good to impressively amazing in pretty much every way. I also don’t fully subscribe to the “judge an anime by its cover/promo art” because, while this material shows the viewer what they can expect in terms of superficial content; they don’t necessarily lay out the expectations of what the series will do and to what extent. I can look at a cover and see one guy surrounded by a bunch of girls and know it’s most likely to be a harem series. Dependent upon the designs of the characters, I can even gauge how much, and how scandalous the fan service will be and even what sort of hijinks will occur. What I don’t know however, is what themes, how and to what extent will they be developed; will the themes be character, concept or plot driven? Will there even be any themes or concepts? To what extent and how will the characterization be executed and to accomplish what? And so on and so forth. So, with Wanna be the Strongest in the World, I ignored the reviews, looked beyond what was being shown in the trailers, gave it the benefit of the doubt and went into this series, as fair minded as I could. Despite the fact that I do like this series, this is where I want to take the opportunity to discuss some of what I consider shortcomings of this series before I talk about what I enjoyed about it. I’ve narrowed the issues down to two major components; firstly, the wasted potential, which does cover a few different aspects and secondly the execution of the fan service, along the wasted potential there as well. When I speak of wasted potential in a general sense, what I particularly mean is what the series could’ve done thematically, conceptually and using the story and characters to convey that, and oh, did Wanna be the Strongest in the World have potential. I guess the first major beef I have with this show is Sakura, I understand that as the series progresses, she does in fact undergo some development, the problem however; is that there is so little in fleshing out, I have no benchmark as to where she started, so I really can’t say how much development she has as a character over the course of the series. I have very little as to where her drive to be the best comes from; no dialogue, no flashback, not even any subtle implicit hints that would convey this. Fact is, the supporting cast is far more interesting, but I’ll talk about them a little later. Thematically and conceptually, it was mentioned on Bamboo Dong’s original review of the first episode about how “One might even say it lampoons the frivolity of the idol industry.” While I do feel that the series does deal with this thematic thread throughout the series with some of the fan service, character behaviors and in show fan reactions, it’s not as prevalent as it should be thereby weakening it as a narrative. I really think this series could’ve been something truly special and thought provoking had it taken this thread much further. It would’ve given more room for characterization, interesting dialogue and just an all-round more entertaining series and the best thing is that it wouldn’t have had to compromise on the fan service(although, the execution would still need work); it would actually be defendable because it would become a motif that contributes to the themes it’s dealing with. The second issue is a very simple one; just certain plot points that still bug me. One of them being how Sakura loses around fifty matches before getting a victory; this is pretty silly writing actually; what sort of wrestling organization lets a wrestler, a pop star no less ( so there’s a gimmick and selling point there) lose that many matches, and to the same bloody move. It would’ve made more sense if after Sakura’s fourth or fifth loss, especially if it’s always the same move doing her in; she’s taken aside for extra training. There we go; a new opportunity for fan service and more importantly; some real characterization. There is one other major problem I have, but it’s very spoiler like, so I’ll leave it out; but it is pretty weak though. That brings me to the third issue I have which is the execution of the fan service and some of the implications made. Fan service, like any other element of a series is something I look at in terms of how it’s implemented, integrated and executed; I consider the possibility it may contribute to the themes and narrative while also being frivolous titillation, which does require creativity, good cinematography and strong writing. More importantly though, is that a series is follows the fundamentals of good writing building a solid foundation and thus, regardless of the level of fan service in a given series; it remains subordinate to the themes and/or concepts explored. I’ve spoken at great lengths of anime that I feel do very this well, and as a result are some of my all-time favorite shows; but I digress. 
"I'm not really a masochist; I just act like one because love I pain and getting my ass kicked." In the case of Wanna be the Strongest in the World, I feel that the fan service element is far too dominate in the early episodes; this is because of how it’s executed, what is being done and for how long. I knew mostly from the trailers, that there was going to be some sadomasochism; which isn’t a big deal. I did also expect and hope for just some simple eroticism with the wrestling, because it does lend itself to that; just a normal match with scandalous angles, still sensual, but without being torture porn. But no, apparently that’s not enough; I guess that would require a more creative and thoughtful approach to the eroticism. That brings me to the problem I have, is that the scenes are dragged on for way too long and are done in a repetitious, unimaginative fashion causing them to become tedious; which to me comes off pretty lazy to be honest. The breakdown is something like, Sakura’s face and boobs, Sakura’s butt and crotch, Sakura’s opponent enjoying herself with a sadistic, douche bag grin on her face. While this is done, the dialogue consists of snarky remarks from Sakura’s opponent, Sakura’s inner monologues about how much it hurts all accompanied by Sakura wailing and screaming at the top of her lungs. This screaming got so annoying for me that I actually shouted “shut up” aloud to my computer when I was streaming it only to realize, “Oh, I can turn down the volume,” thank goodness for the volume control. This is mostly done to the Boston Crab hold as well, so, aside from being mean spirited torture porn, it also gets pretty monotonous, and no word of a lie; some of these scenes, I mean, just Boston Crab, clock in at over five minutes; too f**king long. Aside from that, the animation issues these scenes run into involve use of excessive key frame animation making these scenes very static and as mentioned, monotonous. There is one other type of fan service that I do need to bring up and in terms of anime, I’ve only seen it show up in OVA shorts on random shows; it’s workout porn; yeah that’s a thing. People, both men and women that are in great shape wear some sexy outfit and just exercise in various ways; weights, aerobics, stretching whatever. How do I know about this; I’ve heard about it, I’ve been shown it; it’s not really my thing, but I have nothing against it. The point as to why I bring this up though is that there’s an entire sequence of Sakura just working out; that’s it. No inner monologue, no dialogue over top; just reused animation scenes of Sakura doing various exercises. It was at this point I’m thinking, “Yeah, show, I know exactly what you’re up to.” As I touched on before, I can vouch for shows like High School DxD, Queen’s Blade, Maken Ki, High School of the Dead and a handful of other shows with heavy amounts of ecchi since the fan service is done in a lighthearted, “all in good fun” sort of way and even if there’s sadomasochistic parts; they aren’t drawn out for extended periods of time and more importantly; actually help serve to develop a character. Ironically, some of these shows such as Queen’s Blade and Samurai Girls are far more salacious with frivolous nudity than Wanna be the Strongest in the World, yet it doesn’t impair the fundamental aspects of the aforementioned series that truly matter, that when a series has the thematic/conceptual backing along with well written characters that contribute to these themes/concepts I even confidently argue that the fan service even serves a narrative purpose to a certain extent. I guess to sum up the fan service portion of Wanna be the Strongest in the World, at least for the first few episodes is lazy, lazy, lazy. Wanna be the Strongest in the World’s sensuality, from the scantily clad, well-endowed female cast to the fetishism of wrestling is perfectly fine, as a matter of fact, the character designs are outstanding, the premise is innovative and overall, and it is a decent and entertaining anime to pass the time. This is why I think the five minute OVA’s, which are just pure fan service, are much better, more tasteful and sensual; and they’re far more salacious than the series itself. The first one is mud wrestling and the second is oil wrestling, as I said, they’re pure fan service, but it’s done in a playful, tongue in cheek manner that is more humorous and fun as opposed to mean spirited, derogatory torture porn which is what consumes more than enough screen time on the first four episodes. 
Now, as harsh as I sound towards this series I think it’s important to mention that I still did enjoy watching it for the most part. This brings me to what I feel Wanna be the Strongest in the World did very well as a fun, bubble gum series. A lot of my harsh words are directed mostly towards the first four episodes of the series because after that; it makes some drastic improvements. It also helped that I accepted the fact that this series wasn’t going to be nearly as narratively, thematically or conceptually ambitious as something like Queen’s Blade or Cat Planet Cuties. Earlier when I spoke of weak characterization, I particularly mean Sakura; I didn’t touch on the supporting cast, which to be honest; steals a lot of the scenes. This is both a criticism and a compliment; it could be argued that Sakura is a point of view character, or for some people a self-insert character (I suppose if you’re a hard-core masochist) and even if that is the case; I still find her lacking. I will admit though that Sakura is extremely likable; she does have a certain charisma and charm to her character and perhaps that’s due to her one track, one dimensional “want to be number one” personality. As a character, Sakura is very likable, yes, a one dimensional determined character that makes a great hero for the story, and of course villain turned friend Rio, which also has very little beyond being the obnoxious, tough love bully character. I’ll contend that Toyoda and Jackyl are far more interesting as characters simply because there was some good dialogue exchanged between them referring to their past. Toyoda, who’s a major player in the wrestling world in this series; she sees a lot of herself in Sakura even taking a time to train and coach her personally. She is essentially a character that has had her struggles as implied with the antecedent action mentioned in the course of the series. When it comes to the supporting cast, that’s where this series really works. Generally speaking I found even though there isn’t too much for development or fleshing out of the supporting cast, they have plenty of personality; they’re fun and interesting characters. Let’s face it; their purpose in the story is to give Sakura purpose, hence their roles as supporting characters. Even the non-speaking characters at the Berserk gym where they all work out, I have to praise the fact that strong, yet subtle implications convey that there’s a sense of comradery and fellowship among these characters; as a viewer I had a sense that they had been training together for years and they have their own little “in club” sort of thing with its own culture where they all have to prove themselves. As for characters that impact Sakura, I won’t get into all of them, but some of my favorites; there’s Rio, an obnoxious, sassy, and quite sadistic character that serves as the primary motivator for Sakura to become a wrestler, and as much of a bitch as she comes off as; I actually like her as a character. For all her talk, she possesses integrity, holds herself and others to a high standard and has some great comedic moments in the series. 
“This isn’t my first anime you know; I’ve done other stuff too. I’m so hot; just saying.” 
“Check it out; I was on Queen’s Blade Rebellion too.” Then there’s Jackal, the American character. Most of her fleshing out and development come though her behavior which she leans towards focusing on the entertainment and theatrical angles, often wanting to make a match last longer to give the audience a more elaborate and suspenseful show. She’s also about the promotional end of things hyping it up and capitalizing on opportunities; one of which involves utilizing Sakura’s abilities as a wrestler and pop singer. Aside from that, she’s a hilarious character; since I streamed this series, I watched the Japanese audio; episode eight, when Jackal speaks English it is super awesome and funny, from the way she says “okay” to other lines like “let’s party!” As much as I hate to admit it, Wanna be the Strongest in the World does have a couple of thematic threads going on. One of which I talked about earlier with the frivolity of the entertainment industry with the events that occur on this series as well as Jackal’s intentions and motivations as a character. This particular thread, while present and could be seen, wasn’t prevalent or consistent enough to really cut through when it should’ve been at the forefront of the narrative. The other one is a deeper theme that is both very subtle and up front, and unlike the first concept I mentioned; this one is far more consistent. It’s the philosophy that life gets hard, difficult and painful but a person should never give up. That’s pretty much the heart of Sakura’s story arc; particularly the scene when she’s taken aside by Toyoda and put into a Boston Crab and Sakura says she wants to give up, but Toyoda says there’s no giving up, that wrestling does get painful and that she has to work through it and deal with it. Substitute “wrestling” for “life” and that’s the philosophy; and this the aforementioned scene that where it has the strongest presence; it does come up throughout and is pretty much the staple of Sakura’s development as a character. Now don’t get me wrong, just because I mentioned Wanna be the Strongest in the World has a couple themes put to work, this series is not Puella Magi Madoka Magica, or Queen’s Blade or both Fullmetal Alchemist series or Le Chevalier D'Eon. There is no symbolism (that I know of), and it’s still a very bubble gum series in terms of its narrative ambitions and execution; I contend it could’ve been much more, but it didn’t go that direction unfortunately. 
“My show’s good, it has themes, and stuff; and I’m not one-dimensional, kiss my ass, your show sucks!” From an overall perspective the series itself is pretty good; it’s still fun and entertaining for the most part. The premise is innovative setting up the potential for wrestling fetishism (which has its flaws as I’ve explained), the character designs are colorful and vibrant, and the gym and training area is gritty with the stadiums being well animated with CG effects. It’s after the first four episodes the series works excessively well because, while it still has its sadomasochistic elements present, it becomes a well-constructed sports/ action anime with some genuinely funny parts in it. Nearly entire episodes are devoted just to matches and since, as a viewer, I was tired of seeing Sakura lose all the time, I was truly rooting for her the entire time. This creates some amazing edge of your seat suspense, some well animated, well-choreographed professional wrestling action; not, one lame hold with the same cinematography repeated in sequence. Even the sadomasochism is well executed since it’s integrated nicely into the action as well as being dialed down a few notches. In a way, the greater area of this series gave me nostalgia for when I was a kid watching the old WWF on TV and VHS before outgrowing professional wrestling in general at the age of twelve. 
Is it me or does Rio look ultra-creepy here? I almost expect her to do like Koba did on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and throw Sakura off a ledge somewhere. |
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_Cyphon_
 Posts: 996 |
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tl;dr
Holy crap, I think I just witnessed the longest post ever in ANN history. |
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Trypticon
Posts: 80 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
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Stepped away to prep dinner and people are already putting words in my mouth. Although, I can understand why someone would think I feel that way about this series. Let me reiterate; I like this show and found it entertaining, I even said it's "pretty good" because after the first four episodes; things clicked into place for me as a good action/ sports anime with fan service. I did have plenty of good to say about it. Yes, I also had plenty of bad to say about it because I did have high hopes for this series; it's possible to be highly critical about particular aspects of something while still liking it and acknowledging positive elements to it as well. I merely did that when I expressed my opinion; I also have a sense a humor about it hence why I made fun of Wanna be the Strongest in the World a few times. (it is easy to make fun of though) |
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_Cyphon_
Posts: 996 |
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^ My bad for assuming things then. But when your post is over 30 paragraphs long and starts with some pretty downplaying alternate names you have for them, it becomes hard to think anything else.
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Trypticon
Posts: 80 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
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^Oh no big deal, I know there are parts in both my posts where I came off a little harsh although that wasn't my intention even when I criticized what I felt were the weaker points of Wanna be the Strongest in the World.
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