Ryuichi Ikegami is one of the best-known artists in the manga community both in his homeland and the US. His photorealistic work is simply unmistakable; no one else draws characters like him. Because of the eye for detail and his own personal taste for violence and erotica (as he states in the back of some of his manga collections), most of the sagas he illustrates lean towards pulpy crime epics. The first piece of work that was brought stateside was the incredible Mai The Psychic Girl manga, which though action-packed was gentle and soft in comparison to the rest of his portfolio. At any rate, the one thing that nobody’s done well is bringing Ikegami’s legendary style to anime. Because the look is so crisp and detailed, any anime that copied his style exactly would cost millions. The anime of Crying Freeman, Ikegami’s best-known work, was a disappointment; not only were the new character designs bad, but it was poorly animated in almost every respect, so even the well-crafted plot didn’t help. But it turns out it wasn’t the first time that a studio had attempted to make the transition; Kizuoibito was based on an early work of Ikegami’s and came out in 1986, with sequels in following years. Kizuoibito is almost completely absent from the knowledge base of Western fandom, with only a few pages noting the seiyuu (vocal talent) who were involved. Once you see it, you can understand why it never became popular here–not only are the character designs only poor representations of Ikegami’s style, but there’s a severe wave of misogyny that would likely shock and stun some viewers. It’s not completely terrible, but it’s not one to seek out, either.

Kizuoibito follows a young journalist, Yuko, as she heads to South America to investigate stories of lost treasure and mafia dealings. Shortly after she arrives, she has a brutal encounter with Keisuke Ibarake, who is known as the “white-haired demon,” when he attacks her cameraman and proceeds to assault her. However, there is some connection at a base level, and she is at once repulsed by and attracted to him. After a series of confrontations with the scarred prospector, she and her group realize that he may be their best chance at the promise of gold. When he leaves and they have to set out on their own, however, they become the prey of some ruthless types who have very different plans for them. Without the ruthless prospector’s help, they appear doomed to a nasty fate indeed.

Kizuoibito is simply a woman’s worst nightmare. Yuko is at first depicted as a strong heroine trained in the martial arts. However, when Ibarake appears on the scene, she becomes a rape victim instead. Although the film tries to justify this by attempting to show she was spellbound by him, that only goes to make it somehow more repugnant. This isn’t the only time something like this happens, though; later on, she finds herself once again helpless in a gruesome ritual I won’t bother to discuss further. There’s no way to get around the simple fact that this is blatant misogyny. Although I haven’t read Ikegami’s manga of the story, there’s enough misogyny in his other titles that it shouldn’t be surprising, but it is still disturbing. The sensitive should stay far, far away.

Really, most everybody else should too, because there’s really not a whole lot going on here. There’s some action, but it’s not exciting; the romance is at best questionable; the story itself is difficult to fathom. If the animation were great, it might help, but it’s weak. There’s no element that makes this show stand out. If anything, it points to strengths in Crying Freeman. There are many similar plot points between the two, but whereas Kizuoibito is difficult at best to watch, Crying Freeman has a sympathetic hero and heroine that deserved a far better animated series than what they got. Perhaps they learned a few lessons from making this one…it’s anybody’s guess.

It would be difficult to find this show through any standard channels, and I really don’t recommend you do. Even if you are a Ryuichi Ikegami fan, read some of his manga instead–the anime of Kizuoibito is just not worth the effort. I have seen worse anime, but why waste your time and money?

Editor’s Note: Reminder to self: badly done sex and death sell in the US. A couple of years after the original publication of this review, I went into a Half Price Books that carries manga and started looking at their selection of titles from the publisher Comics One. Sure enough, the manga of Kizuoibito (which though prettier is just as grotesque as the anime) is now available in the United States under the title Wounded Man. You’ve been warned.

Considering that the animation industry contributes a nice chunk to the Japanese economy and produces around 50% of the programming seen on Japanese television, it’s surprising that there aren’t more stories about the industry itself. Hollywood has produced a number of “insider” stories and satires like The Player, Sunset Boulevard, and Bowfinger for over 70 years. In comparison, the only “anime about anime” one could find until recently was Otaku No Video, an amusing if occasionally disturbed take on the lives of crazed fans who wound up kings of all things animated. Animation Runner Kuromi changes that. And whereas Otaku No Video was more about fandom than the workings of an animation studio, Kuromi gives us a hilarious take on what happens in order for a show to get on air. Kuromi is only 35 minutes long (credits notwithstanding), but it’s a great short feature that kept me laughing.

Mikiko is unbelievably excited about her new job at an animation studio. After seeing a Lupin III clone years ago, she decided to get into the industry. After anime school and loads of work, she’s scored a job with Studio Petit. The only problem is, the last production manager lasts only long enough to show her around the empty offices and to nickname her Kuromi before he keels over from a bleeding ulcer! Faced with a looming deadline for “Time Journeys 2″, she’s got to get a cynical director, a lazy art checker, and a useless artistic team to finish the show before they miss their scheduled time slot and doom the studio permanently. Though the cheerful Kuromi gets discouraged by the impossibility of her task, she knows that her work will make the difference between an animated masterpiece and a dismal failure.

Animation Runner Kuromi was released in 2001, and the interview with director Akitaro Daichi included on US Manga Corps’ recent release of the title tells us that a second OVA is in production. I’m glad to hear it, as Kuromi is a delight. Amazingly enough, though the show was produced digitally, it includes virtually none of the annoying pans and arguable techniques that make some modern shows look amateurish. It’s still got the ultra-shiny look currently popular, but here, it works in the show’s favor. With a bouncy theme song that dares you to hum along, Kuromi is great from a technical perspective.

Where Kuromi excels is in being goofy and still touching, madcap and still loveable. The adventures this poor girl faces would stress out a power attorney, and yet Kuromi deals with them with grit and courage. The show doesn’t gloss over her efforts, letting us feel a bit of the melancholy despair that she experiences when all seems lost. And that’s important in making us care about characters particularly in a fast-paced comedy as this one. And Kuromi succeeds as a comedy on virtually every front. From the inside jokes about various anime programs to the techniques used to get everyone to turn in their work on time, this show knows its material and makes it consistently witty. It doesn’t have any moments that make you fall out of your chair, but it’s consistently amusing and often laugh-out loud funny.

Does Kuromi have any faults? Yes, but they’re mercifully few. A couple of the jokes (particularly involving “Time Journeys” bumpers) get old before they’re done using them. It’s also too short to really get to know the various characters besides Kuromi herself. In some shows, we don’t really care about the individuals, but Kuromi presents a variety of oddballs who we’d like to know better. Hopefully, the sequel will flesh things out a little more; frankly, I wouldn’t mind if they made it into a series!

Meanwhile, although Central Park Media did provide me with a screener for my review, I have to say that I think their price point of $25 for 35 minutes of animation is really way too steep (though that in no way influenced my letter grade for the show). Sure, they’ve included some nice extras, including a director’s commentary, a couple of interviews, and an alternate-angle storyboard. But when you can buy a couple full-length live-action films for the same price…well, you can do the math. They also rated this thing “16 and up”, which is ridiculous for a show with the barest hints of mock violence, no nudity, and no language. Although parents might want to check it first, middle-schoolers on up should enjoy this one.

Animation Runner Kuromi is a show for anyone who’s ever thought it might be a kick to see behind the scenes or work in an anime studio. It’s a blend of comedy, satire, and quirky fun that hit me the right way. Kuromi 2, come soon!

Animation Runner Kuromi — nothing objectionable but very brief mock violence — A

Source:theanimereview.com

In my pocket review that I wrote for Akira nearly eight years ago now, I called it “the ultimate cyberpunk anime.” What is ultimately astounding is that the title is still very worthy even today. Certainly, there have been many entries since–from Ghost in the Shell, which I found essentially toothless in comparison, to Lain, a worthy but altogether different take on the genre. However, nothing has compared to Akira in terms of how much scope, depth, action, and sheer insanity can be packed into 2 hours and 5 minutes. No doubt that other shows have covered similar topics, but ultimately, Akira is a masterpiece in that it condenses a huge epic manga into a very short time frame while still being accessible to newcomers. Granted, those newcomers may feel things are a bit muddled, but ultimately that pulls the viewer back in, because by the end the viewer wants to understand the mystery known as Akira. It’s this mystery, compounded by a rather lousy dub job that toured the US and over twelve years of speculation and backlash, that has made Akira into a misunderstood classic of anime.

Akira — language, brief nudity, EXTREME violence — A

Source:theanimereview.com