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REVIEW: Kurau: Phantom Memory DVD 1


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Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18135
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:38 am Reply with quote
Oh, I don't disagree that the set-up has a lot of familiarity to it. What made it different for me - and the reason I bought into it fully - was the wholly different tone and that, unlike most other "alien inhabiting/mimicking a human body" scenarios, here it's rarely clear where the alien stops and the original Kurau begins. That becomes more apparent in the next three episodes, as does the depth of the emotion involved in the Kurau/Christmas relationship - the other main reason I'll keep watching the series.

And on the side topic, by far the biggest chunk of the alphabet on my anime DVD racks is the "S" section. (But "G" and "M" are roughly tied for a distant 2nd.)
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Jedi General



Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 2485
Location: Tucson, AZ
PostPosted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:51 am Reply with quote
I saw the first volume at Best Buy yesterday. Hopefully TRSI will be shipping out my pre-order soon. I am eager to see the rest of the volume.
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kolibri



Joined: 23 Aug 2006
Posts: 712
Location: Vancouver
PostPosted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:12 am Reply with quote
When this was on the ANN banner I kept thinking that the series was called "KURAJ" Anime smallmouth + sweatdrop But it sounds really good, maybe I can pick this up in the dealers room at the con over the weekend.
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HellKorn



Joined: 03 Oct 2006
Posts: 1669
Location: Columbus, OH
PostPosted: Fri Apr 06, 2007 2:02 pm Reply with quote
CMB wrote:
I have found that some Anime to Manga works do work. Like Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Big O. I've found these manga series to be good and their are others that are as good out there too. Smile


Meh, I don't share the same sentiments on Bebop and Champloo. The former is just lackluster and it's alternative one, Shooting Star, is absolutely horrid. Champloo didn't bother me as much, but it was a far cry from winning me over. And I haven't read The Big O manga to compare it to the original anime (which I absolutely love).

Randall Miyashiro wrote:
The last few Bones series (Mars Daybreak, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Eureka Seven) seemed to lean towards shonen mainstream action for my taste.


Fullmetal Alchemist worked for me (at least the series did, not the movie so much) even though I prefer the manga since admist all of the forced humor and typical philosophical panderings that would sooner get a reaction out of a teenager than an adult, it's overall solid. I haven't seen Mars Daybreak, and I found Eureka Seven to be disappointing overall (still good enough, though).

Quote:
Granted RahXephon did have some serious shonen elements, it also seemed a little less rambunctious and had an elegance which can also be seen in Wolf's Rain.


Outside of "boy finds and pilots mysterious mecha that apparently only works for him," I'm a little lost at the shounen elements that you describe.

Quote:
Kurau feels far more like Bones' older works.


Well, it did come out in 2004, so that's likely the reason why... I can only hope that the pair coming out this season in Japan are more in that tone.

Zalis116 wrote:
Ah, but are they slashable? My sources say "yes" Laughing


Just about anything is, nowadays... Admittedly any type of Kurau and Christmas fan/fap work is less of a disasterous stretch than most out there

Quote:
I don't know what's with those accents either. I mean, come on, the vaguely Scottish housekeeper? Does it get any more stereotypical than that? The second Broker was a load of laughs, though. Overall I think I'll stick with the Japanese track and sample some English dub episodes here and there.


It's for that and numerous other reasons while I'll be sticking to the Japanese language track. Wake me up when Greenfield does a comedy again, otherwise I'm never going to bother with another anime that he's written and directed for an English dub again.

But yeah, Kurau continues to get better as time goes on. The ending itself for the series isn't one where fans will feel "betrayed" Rolling Eyes like in Wolf's Rain (which is still my favorite BONES production), so anyone afraid of giving Kurau a try because of that know that.

Oh, and since people are on about it, titles beginning with "G" are the most common in my sizable collection.
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Veoryn87



Joined: 14 Nov 2006
Posts: 808
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:38 am Reply with quote
Zalis116 wrote:
I checked out episode 4 in the English dub; acting seemed all right, but some of the alterations were a bit too liberal, to the point of taking out those shoujo-ai overtones by changing "just the two of us" to something else. I don't know what's with those accents either. I mean, come on, the vaguely Scottish housekeeper? Does it get any more stereotypical than that? The second Broker was a load of laughs, though. Overall I think I'll stick with the Japanese track and sample some English dub episodes here and there.
I never really understood peoples problems with accents.

I haven't watched this show in Japanese so my opinion is probably void, but I thought it was very good. Maybe I just like Monica Rial a lot (which I do). I have an easier time hearing emotions in English anyway. I have a much easier time hearing Kurau's longing and sadness in English in the first episode where she's missing her other half.
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Randall Miyashiro



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 4:43 pm Reply with quote
Veoryn87 wrote:

I never really understood peoples problems with accents.


I could never get past various English and American accents in anime that are set in Japan. Usually I end up watching shows that are set in Japan, especially period series in Japanese. Accents in these series remind me of those old WW II films where a bunch of Japanese troops are talking to each other in English with a Japanese accent. Although not as Japanese in feel as a series like Tactics or Azumanga, there is something about Kurau that feels very Japanese to me. Bones tends to make series that seem to have a international feel, and I did end up watching some of their other works in English, but I'll stick with raw/sub for this release.
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HellKorn



Joined: 03 Oct 2006
Posts: 1669
Location: Columbus, OH
PostPosted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:01 pm Reply with quote
Veoryn87 wrote:
I never really understood peoples problems with accents.


Because they weren't in the original Japanese dub, are superfluous, more often than naught don't fit the character(s), and are sometimes stereotypical?

I mean, if we were dealing with a vast amount of different nationalities and it was explicitly stated as such, then I might understand why'd there be accents about. But there isn't any of that in Kurau, so it's not needed. Heck, that'd be like expecting French accents in Le Chevalier D'Eon, when the majority of the cast are French speaking English, and there's no reason for them to sound different than one another.
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Kagemusha



Joined: 20 Feb 2004
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Location: Boston
PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 11:40 pm Reply with quote
Good review. I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed the first disk. Much, much more interesting than another generic Sci-fi show.

Quote:


Anyway, I agree overall with the review, and it's pleasent to see that I'm not the only one here who loved the first episode since I've seen some complaints about how "boring" it is. Those type of comments surprise me considering that when I initially watched it, I was amazed at how much was put into the first episode. Still am after watching it -- just simply stunned when we see the series' logo appear halfway through the episode and you realize, "Hey, you mean that there's more?! Whoa!".


Your surprised people find Kurau boring when your a Texhnolyze fan? But I had the same reaction when I watched the first episode on the DVD, partly because of how compact the first half is and partly because I saw it (the first part) on fansubs 8 bajillion years ago before it got licensed (it must have been a promo or something). Overall one of the best introductions in recent memory.
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HellKorn



Joined: 03 Oct 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 3:01 pm Reply with quote
Kagemusha wrote:
Good review. I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed the first disk. Much, much more interesting than another generic Sci-fi show.


Heh, well, to its credit, Ergo Proxy didn't become a "ah, what the hell, buy the DVDs" type of show for me until the episodes in the fourth and fifth volumes. Up until that point it's pretty standard sci-fi material with some of the most pretentiousness philosophical jargon that I've ever encountered in fiction (not up to the level of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, but episode eleven is really not much more than Dai Sato masturbating his own ego). Yeah, it ain't anywhere near close to Texhnolyze or Paranoia Agent in terms of depth, complexity, and intelligence... but then again I can't really think of any anime series (maybe a few movies and OVAs) that are on comparable levels with all three categories to those two, outside of arguably Serial Experiments Lain and The Big O.

So yeah, to not go too off-topic, EP isn't up to the billing that a lot of its fans claim it to be, but it breaks away from the usual mold enough in some areas to stand up well enough on its own.

Quote:
Your surprised people find Kurau boring when your a Texhnolyze fan?


Laughing

Well, I think the fundamental difference is in their presentations. The first episode of Texhnolyze is incredibly alienating to a viewer with typical, mainstream tastes and didn't come in expecting something so unique, so I'd sooner recommend it to a fan of David Lynch's films than to an anime fan. While Kurau: Phantom Memory, on the other hand, is less disorienting and has a lot going on from the get-go. I mean, girl goes to her father's lab, encounters an "accident," gains super-human abilities, has a conflict with waiting for another entity to arrive, father has an issue of "getting back his daughter," advance ten years into the future with a very solid action scene, and end it with the aforementioned entity at last arriving... I mean, damn, how many first episodes can attest to having that much happen, and have it so naturally paced and well-written? Yet, I see remarks such as: "I didn't like the first episode. It felt boring. I hope that it gets better soon..." which frankly made my jaw drop when I read 'em.

I mean, jeezus, what's it take for something to be "interesting" to people? I know that it might be asking too much out of a fandom that considers some clichéd melodrama filled with gimmicks and mecha like Code Geass to be rated number nineteen on here (and the same crowd to complain about how a methodical and mature work Darker than BLACK, the BONES show that took over CG's time slot, to be not as good with plot and characters as CG, which I scream to be absolute BS) , but where are their standards at?

Ugh, I may be ranting as well as coming off as something of an elitist (I admit to being one to some degree), and I know that what is entertaining to a person is entirely subjective (I do not, however, subscribe to actual quality, such as literary merit, to be the same), but it's distressing when an excellent anime like Kurau gets passed up because some folks have the attention span of a rodent.

... And on a lighter note...

Quote:
Overall one of the best introductions in recent memory.


Aw hellz yah.
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Kagemusha



Joined: 20 Feb 2004
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 11:58 pm Reply with quote
Quote:


Heh, well, to its credit, Ergo Proxy didn't become a "ah, what the hell, buy the DVDs" type of show for me until the episodes in the fourth and fifth volumes. Up until that point it's pretty standard sci-fi material with some of the most pretentiousness philosophical jargon that I've ever encountered in fiction (not up to the level of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, but episode eleven is really not much more than Dai Sato masturbating his own ego). Yeah, it ain't anywhere near close to Texhnolyze or Paranoia Agent in terms of depth, complexity, and intelligence... but then again I can't really think of any anime series (maybe a few movies and OVAs) that are on comparable levels with all three categories to those two, outside of arguably Serial Experiments Lain and The Big O.


I actually still have yet to see EP beyond the first episode. A friend of mine is buying the DVDs, but I just haven't gotten around to borrowing them yet. What I've seen was interesting, if only for the art direction and music, and based on the opinions I've heard I'll probably come around and get something out of it.

But in general I think Kurau does have widespread appeal because the heart of the show is grounded in human emotions. The dual-consciousness aspect could lead to some interesting, in-depth exploration later in the series (hopefully) but as long as it follows a fairly conventional plot formula and has great characters most people are going to show interest. As much as I love it I can understand why people have such strongly negative reactions to Texhnolyze, as like you said it really doesn't follow anime conventions. There are some examples of similarly ambiguous/unconventional anime out there (obviously Lain, as well as the stunning yet obscure Pale Cocoon), but in general it really floored me with how unique it was when I first saw it years ago, which was part of the appeal.
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HellKorn



Joined: 03 Oct 2006
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 11:34 am Reply with quote
Kagemusha wrote:
I actually still have yet to see EP beyond the first episode. A friend of mine is buying the DVDs, but I just haven't gotten around to borrowing them yet. What I've seen was interesting, if only for the art direction and music, and based on the opinions I've heard I'll probably come around and get something out of it.


Ah, fair enough. Definitely check it out. It doesn't reach up to the praise that its given, and it takes a while to actually get to the genuinely interesting bits (where it becomes episodic for a good stretch of the show), but I find it worthwhile as a whole.

Quote:
But in general I think Kurau does have widespread appeal because the heart of the show is grounded in human emotions. The dual-consciousness aspect could lead to some interesting, in-depth exploration later in the series (hopefully) but as long as it follows a fairly conventional plot formula and has great characters most people are going to show interest.


Not exactly sure what you're looking for with the dual-consciousness, but there are some interesting upcoming characters that we'll encounter a couple volumes down the line, and we do get to see spoiler[more Rynax pairs] that are handled quite well.

Quote:
As much as I love it I can understand why people have such strongly negative reactions to Texhnolyze, as like you said it really doesn't follow anime conventions.


Definitely. About the only thing that Texhnolyze does indeed have are a few archetypes, but instead of wallowing in clichés, it developments them both as characters and also for its themes (pretty the entire main cast symbolizes and/or commentates on something, which I found really astounding as you don't get that in anime, and even when you rarely do their development is rather stilted). Its character don't follow set patterns and it doesn't rely on any gimmicks to push them forward (something practically unheard in the medium). Though, I'd suspect that it even goes to further lengths to alienate those that wouldn't like it right from the start with episode one, much like the highway scene in Solyaris.

Quote:
... Pale Cocoon...


Damn, thanks for reminding me on that one. I saw it a while back and absolutely loved it. A real masterpiece, Pale Cocoon is. I'm surprised at how much depth was thrown in just twenty-three minutes of animation, and that it was practically done singlehandedly is even more amazing. Even though I went out of my way to import the R2 (which has English subtitles), I really want that thing to be licensed.
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