Monthly Archive for April, 2005

Basilisk #02

Published on April 29, 2005 in Basilisk (Complete). 7 Comments

The Kouga-Iga Peace Treaty was enacted during the Tenshou Era in hopes of creating an idealistic climate of peace among the two conflicting clans, but it has not been very successful in convincing members of each party in following the rules of the treaty. The two clan leaders, Ogen and Danjou, were sent to Sumpu to demonstrate their clan’s ninja skills to the shogun (as shown in the first episode), but little was known about their meeting. Scrolls were eventually sent back to the villages, but the news of the ill-fated meeting between the two leaders were purposely kept from Oboro (Ogen’s granddaughter) and Gennosuke (Danjou’s grandson) to keep them from worrying about the troubles both clans now face…

I’m not sure how accurate my understanding of this episode is, so I may have made some vital mistakes in my short summary. What I do know is that both Oboro and Gennosuke are going to be in for a big surprise now that the peace treaty has been nullified. With the two previous leaders gone, I don’t see a positive future for these two clans. I’m also worried about Gennosuke now that he’s about to enter enemy territory. It looks like the next episode will be quite an exciting one. :)

Basilisk #01

Published on April 26, 2005 in Basilisk (Complete). 8 Comments

Note: My apologies in advance for any mistakes I may have made with this post.

Keichou Era, Year 10 (A.D. 1614) - The second shogun, Hidetada, has the difficult task of choosing either his eldest son, Takechiyo-sama, or his youngest, Kunichiyo-sama, to become the third shogun of Tokugawa (I may be completely off-base on this one, though). This has inevitably split the Edo Castle into two opposing factions each supporting either son because of this. In order to resolve this problem, both the Tokugawa leyasu (Retired shogun) and Nankoubou Tenkai (Guardian of the Tokugawa Government) devise a plan using ten ninjas from each clan as pawns to decide the next Tokugawa shogun for them. With ten ninjas from Kouga representing Kunichiyo and ten ninjas from Iga representing Takechiyo, both will fight to the death until the last surviving ninja with the secret scroll will be declared the victor, ensuring their clan a thousand years of glory.

Tenshou Era, Year 9 (A.D. 1581) – The story of two lovers, Danjou and Ogen, forbidden from seeing one another because of the feuding clans they originate from. Not a moment passes before the chaos of war disrupts their short rendezvous together as the land of the Hidden Tsuba, plagued by death and bloodshed, becomes victim by those of the Kouga clan. Convinced that Danjou has betrayed her trust, she uses her last breath to end his life but fails to do so. Forward another era, and their bloody feud continues to plague the two leaders of the opposing clans…

I have to admit that I’m hooked as I’m sure many others are especially because of the latter part of this episode. How will this story unfold at the end? I’ll definitely be keeping up with this series. :)

Beck #26 (Final)

Published on April 25, 2005 in BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad (complete). 11 Comments Tags: , , .

Koyuki wants to revive Beck, and it seems like it’s been on Chiba’s mind as well, but he’s still concerned about the fact that he was the only one who missed out on that dream. It doesn’t matter one iota to Koyuki, though. He knows that Beck is nothing without Chiba, so that silly dream really doesn’t mean anything. Taira’s about to go on tour with his current band Heroes, but he also wants to help revive the group as soon as he’s done with all the tours and promotions. He warns Koyuki that he’ll only return if all five original members are back, but after having no luck with finding Ryuusuke (he’s in New York and Saku’s returned after running away from home), they decide on regrouping without him anyway.

They’re offered the chance of a lifetime to go on an American tour, so they spend all their time practicing both on and off stage before leaving for their 50-day tour in America. Maho attempts to teach Koyuki some Engrish the day before leaving, but his pronunciation is so nonexistent that she’s given up all hope on him and instead leaves him with a tape to practice with. It’s a real downer that we’re only given a quick slideshow of what happened during their tour in America instead of actually being able to experience it with them, but I suppose it’s better than nothing at all. So, Koyuki’s pointing out all the sights and sounds of the places they visited, and along with all of his pictures of the guys, he also has a blurred photo of Ryuusuke and Beck. Apparently, they finally get to see him again in Seattle, and it looks like it’s a friendly and welcoming reunion. Leon Sykes is finally arrested for the crimes he committed, and all five members finally perform together again in a local joint in Seattle. It’s disappointing that we’re only given a few glimpses of the audience instead of being able to watch them perform, but I suppose the writers and animators were in a rush to complete this series and move on to other projects.

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Overall, I really enjoyed this series because it focused primarily on rock music, and although the music wasn’t the best and the Engrish was atrocious, it was enjoyable to listen to and watch nonetheless. Koyuki was annoying at times because of his feeble demeanor, but I often had to remember that he was just a teenager struggling to find his identity and purpose in this world. After discovering his talent in playing guitars, though, he had an actual goal in life and worked toward improving that goal to the best of his ability. His relationship with Maho was never really that serious, and although she made some bad choices in hooking up with Yoshito in many instances, in the end she decided on being with him (even that remains questionable, but I’ll accept the idea that they were an official couple). I wish we could’ve found out more about Ryuusuke’s past and why he chose to live a life in poverty instead of milking his family’s wealth, but perhaps it’s mentioned in the manga. In any case, Beck was a very enjoyable series, and although I don’t intend to watch it a second time, I would definitely recommend it for future viewers.

Many, many thanks to the wonderful people over at Anime-Empire and Shinsen-Subs for generously donating their time in subbing this series. You guys are the best. :)

Beck #25

Published on April 24, 2005 in BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad (complete). 0 Comments

After generating a huge audience, the band disappears backstage without pleasing their newfound fans with an encore performance, and the guys end up going their separate ways after that memorable day at the Greatful Sound.

Forward to a month and a half later, and life hasn’t changed a bit for Koyuki. He’s still at school doing the same thing, and although he’s been getting offers for possible music contracts and band invitations, he declines the majority of the offers. Meanwhile, Chiba’s decided to quit the music business entirely and desires to open up his own ramen restaurant someday, despite the fact that he’s been told that his ramen sucks. Ryuusuke’s disappeared from the world, while Taira’s moved on to a popular Indie band as their basist. Saku’s transferred to another school again, so Koyuki’s on his own now that his best friend has left. It’s really sad watching Koyuki’s tears falling from his eyes as he looks back at all the fond memories he had with Saku and the rest of the guys from Beck. I know how sad and depressing it is to have a best friend disappear from my life, so that was a very heartbreaking scene to watch. And now, finally, onto the final episode.

Beck #24

Published on April 24, 2005 in BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad (complete). 1 Comment

Both Taira, Ryuusuke, and even Chiba join Koyuki and Saku on stage later that afternoon, and while they’re able to draw a larger crowd than expected, it still won’t be enough to keep their end of the bargain alive. Therefore, they realize that they’ll have to disband once the Greatful Sound is over since it would never work under Leon’s control anyhow. However, fans continue to pour in to their stadium despite the rain and the fact that they’re watching a no-name band, and things are surprisingly working out in their favor as well. Malcolm’s unable to continue despite only performing three songs due to the technical problems caused by the relentless rain, and Belle Ame’s having major trouble keeping their obsessed female fans under control, causing major interruptions and chaos both on and off-stage. Even Yoshito with all his fame and glamour can’t win this battle with his obsessed fans.

The guys decide to perform “Brainstorm,” and the crowd generously responds to Chiba’s energetic performance in return. Leon’s fully aware that things aren’t going his way, so he fires a ground crew and is determined to come out winning at all costs. However, with Malcolm’s crowd now moving on to see Beck, he doesn’t have much of a say in the matter. Meanwhile, Belle Ame’s chaotic problems with the crowd continue to cause interruptions, and now that the sound isn’t working for them either, even their loyal fans are moving on to watch Beck. By the time they get back on stage, it’s a little too late. Now that Beck has generated fans from the other two stages, they’re prepared to go all out and give the fans the best of what they have. And now onto the next episode. :)