Kingbeast's Lair

-== What is it? ==-

Asterios Polyp is a graphic novel that tackles some deep topics through the eyes of its eclectic main character. The book was written and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli and published by Pantheon Books. It was released in 2009.

Asterios Polyp has interior art that is comprised of only yellow, pink, purple, and blue shades. The cover has some black but it is predominately in the same color palette. The book is 10.5” x 8” in size and is 344 pages in length. I am reviewing a hardcover copy that I bought from Lee’s Comics in San Mateo.

-== What I Like ==-

The main story is comprised of deep layered topics which are explored through the life and beliefs of the main character, Asterios Polyp. Some of the major topics covered in the story include fate, death, art, and love. In each case Asterios brings light to these in his own analytically minded fashion.

Asterios Polyp is wonderfully intricate in its simplicity. The story is told through several threads that start and stop at various points in his life. After having described the narrative as jumping around through time you might think that this would make the book hard to read. In fact the narrative is so masterfully crafted that instead it feels fluid and natural.

Everything about the story, artwork, AND physical presentation of Asterios Polyp has meaning. in 344 pages there are no wasted panels. The way the scenes are drawn evokes Asterios’ state of mind at the time. For example, when someone is upset or fearful they may take on a shaky sort of outline. The dust jacket has Asterios Polyp on front cover facing the spine. On the back cover of the jacket is the ghost of his brother staring back across the spine. Also the dust jacket does not cover the front surface of the book. It leaves parts of the cover exposed which allows it to move around in a sort of disconcerting way. For some reason even the ill fitting cover reminded me of Asterios.

Asterios Polyp has many memorable moments which I can vividly recall months after reading it. The initial pages and last few pages are really memorable. These pages hook you into the story, make you read it to the end, then really makes you want to go back and revisit those moments with a reread.

The artwork in Asterios Polyp is comprised of simple lines with little shading but it is executed to perfection. I would stare at the simple lines trying to divulge some deeper meaning. It reminded me of the story…intricate in its simplicity.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

Maybe my only complaint is that the story can be a bit “heavy” at times. If you want a quick read where you can turn your brain off at the door this is not the book you want to pickup.

-== Summary ==-

With Asterios Polyp David Mazzucchelli weaves a masterful tale that is detailed and utterly unforgettable. I need to give credit where credit is due. I found this graphic novel based on a recommendation from Blair Butler who hosts G4’s Fresh Ink. Here is a link to the video review that tipped me off that Asterios Polyp was something different and great. Boy Blair was right on this one. Please go buy Asterios Polyp and see how graphic novels can tell compelling stories. This might be the best graphic novel that I have ever read. Go buy this sucker right now and read it. When you get done come back here and thank me. 😀

Amazon has Asterios Polyp for sale at this URL for a paltry $19.77.

I give it 10 out of 10 paws.

-== What is it? ==-

Samurai 7 is the animated retelling of the famous Akira Kurosawa movie Seven Samurai. Unlike Seven Samurai this series is not a period piece. Samurai 7 projects the action into a high-tech post apocalyptic setting. The series first aired in 2004. It was directed by Toshifumi Takizawa who also directed Crusher Joe and Dirty Pair. Gonzo was the production house.

There is a lot of action but there is not a lot of gratuitous bloodletting. There is only one scene that has some skin showing but it is very tame. The movie is rated “13+” at RightStuf.com and I think that rating is accurate.

I purchased the standard edition Viridian Collection version of the DVD boxed set. The series contains 26 episodes that amount to roughly 700 minutes.

-== What I Like ==-

Them main characters in Samurai 7 are extremely strong. They include a veteran of a recent war, a boy out to prove himself, a powerful klutz, a gunslinger, the farm girl who hires them, etc. EVERY significant character in Samurai 7 was one that I wanted to see grow and change over the story arc. When some of them die it is gut wrenching.

The story pacing in Samurai 7 is perfect. The first few episodes provides a very strong start. Once started the plot includes action scenes interspersed with nice breaks for story development. I really appreciate the fact that every episode has some type of cool action scene. These actions scenes mixed with drama really ratchet up the tension as Samurai 7 progresses through the series. To top it off, the ending does not disappoint. The climax of Samurai 7 is full of action and drama. This series is a masterpiece of storytelling excellence.

The animation style in Samurai 7 is crisp and light. During most of the episodes I thought it was appropriate and well executed. Once or twice I would have liked to see a bit more shadow and contrast but overall the animation was fantastic. 😀

Here are some comments about some of the Samurai 7 episodes.

• Episode 7 – I was quite confused by this episode. For some reason the art syle becomes “loose” in this episode only. It is very strange. I am not sure if this was intentional or not but either way I did not care for the change in animation style. 🙁
• Episode 8 – This episode included a powerful scene where one of the side characters, Rikichi, breaks down in front of the samurai.
• Episodes 13 and 14 – In these episode the attacks on the village begin. Some of the most wonderful action sequences in Samurai 7 are in these episodes.
• Episode 16 – One main cast dies in this episode. His loss really ratchets up the tension of the series.
• Episode 17 and 18 – These two episodes are actually a bit of a let down. They include mostly flashbacks and I think they are tot really needed.
• Episode 19 – A big political power grab happens in this episode of Samurai 7.
• Episode 23 – Fantastic scene with Kanbei (aka the vet). One of the coolest scenes in the run.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

Episodes 7, 17, and 18 in the series are not that strong. If problems with these episodes were cleaned up (see my comments above) the series would really be flawless.

The Viridian Collection of Samurai 7 contains no extras that are even worth mentioning. This is really a disappointment as after watching the show I had a lot of questions about the creation of the characters. I would have loved to see some of the main character designs explored in the extra features.

-== Summary ==-

Samurai 7 is a tension filled action movie with crisp animation and a drop dead wonderful story. I strongly recommend this anime series to anyone who loves action movies or series of any kind.

You can get Samurai 7 at RightStuf.com for $21.99 at this URL. Amazon.com has it at this URL for $26.49.

I give it 9 out of 10 paws.

-== What is it? ==-

Darker Than Black (DTB) is an adventure drama anime from FUNimation that in some ways reminds me of the Heroes TV show. It was released in April 2007. Tensai Okamura directed, created, and wrote DTB. Tensai Okamura has worked on many well known anime classics including Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Ghost In The Shell.

DTB tells the story of a group of operatives who work for a secret organization known as the Syndicate. The main character is a Contractor with electric powers who is known as Hei. Contractors are super powered beings who appeared ten years ago when a strange territory known as Hell’s Gate materialized in Tokyo. These super powered beings are known as Contractors because they must “pay” for their power with some type of anomaly or strange behavior. For example, Hei eats a LOT. 😛 The other members of Hei’s Syndicate team include the following:

• Yin – A quiet Goth looking Doll who can observe people through water. (Dolls are clairvoyants who came to be with the emergence of Hell’s Gate.)
• Huang – A gruff supervisor for the team. His role in the story is that of a liaison with the Syndicate. Huang is a normal human (i.e. he is not a Contractor or a Doll).
• Mao – A Contractor who has the ability to replace his sentience in animals. He is currently stuck in the form of a black cat. Mao is practical and brings an “everyman” view to the story…okay…maybe “everycat”. 😉

The other important character in the story is the Section Chief Kirihara who is assigned to Contractor related cases.

There is some nudity at the very end of the series but it is not graphic or sexual in nature. There is a good deal of violence in DTB but it is not excessively gratuitous. This is one of the few times that I think the RightStuff.com rating of “17+” is too high. I really think this one should be around “14+”.

I purchased the standard edition version of the DVD boxed set. The version I have includes only minor extras in the form of director/actor commentaries and cast auditions. There are 26 episodes in the run.

-== What I Like ==-

The main characters in DTB are extremely cool. I really enjoyed Section Chief Kirihara. She ended up playing off of several characters in a really enjoyable fashion. I thought the fact that one of her subordinates develops a crush on her is also very well done and quite humorous at times. One my favorite episodes included a good deal of screen time for the Section Chief.

As you can tell from some of the initial text the DTB setting is really intricate. There are Contractors, Dolls, various agencies, this strange Hell’s Gate thing, etc. One interesting bit of background relates to how the stars are linked to individual Contractors. When Hell’s Gate appeared the stars changed! After some research scientists realized that every star is uniquely identified with a single Contractor. If a Contractor dies their star fades away. If a Contractor appears then a new star appears. Several times Section Chief Kirihara visits a friend of hers at a local observatory where this is this strange Gandhi type figure who can interpret the stars and what they mean.

There are a couple of episodes that I wanted to mention for being really great or different. In general the series progresses in sets of two episode stories. This works really well for the most part and produces some very strong two episode arcs.

• Ep 1 And 2 – The Fallen Star Of A Contract – The first two episodes really come off nicely. Often I have issues with the first few episodes of longer series but not here. These eps are cool, sexy, fast, and smart.
• Ep 9 And 10 – The White Dress, Stained With The Girl’s Dreams And Blood – I really enjoyed these episodes which focus on Section Chief Kirihara and a friend of hers, Alice, who happens to be the daughter of a well known mob boss. There is tension, humor, drama, and some GREAT fight scenes. Very nice.
• Ep 21 Through 25 – At this point the series kicks into gear for a final sprint to the finale.

The animation style in DTB is nice but it can feel a bit simplistic at times. The animation was done by studio Bones who did the notable anime Cowboy Bebop and Fullmetal Alchemist.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

Even though several of the two episode arcs are very strong I found the overall feel of DTB to be a bit TOO episodic in nature. At times I felt like yelling at the TV to get back to the main thread.

Unfortunately I think the storytelling in DTB could use some improvement. In my opinion it took at least 10 episodes to really get its feet. Even after what I thought was a FANTASTIC first two episodes the series did not carry it forward until quite some time. I was also not found of the strange ending. The ending really felt like a “cop out” to me. 🙁

-== Summary ==-

DTB is a sexy, fast, and smart anime series with super powered Contractors that are very cool. If you want super powered spy action that reminds one of Heroes look to this series.

Recently FUNimation created a classic pack for DTB. Thus the series is priced at a much lower price point. Nice. You can get a copy at RightStuf.com at this URL for $37.49. Amazon has it for $35.99 at this URL.

I give it 7 out of 10 paws.