Sailor Moon Crystal - My Thoughts

[Note: Major spoilers for Acts 1-10 of Sailor Moon Crystal in this post]

For a couple of weeks now I have been following the 2014 Sailor Moon reboot, Sailor Moon Crystal. I refrained from any comments initially because I thought the animation quality and style was bad. Other reviewers were more forgiving, probably because they were excited that there was a reboot at all. Some reviewers mentioned it could be due to teething problems or lack of budget. My question to Toei Animation would then be: if you didn’t have enough budget, why bother doing a reboot at all? Seriously, I have seen the quality of previous works by Toei Animation which was why I couldn’t excuse the poor quality. As for the animation style, I get that they were trying to make it more like the manga style but seeing the end product made me realise that while the manga illustration looks beautiful on paper, it doesn’t necessarily translate well to animation. I couldn’t stand the extreme slenderness of the characters, which one fan aptly described as “stretched taffy”. I will not even delve into the CGI transformation sequence (the transformation sequence in the original series wins hands down).

If only animation quality was the only problem though. The storyline seems rushed and there isn’t much character focus or development for the Inner Senshis apart from the episodes they make their appearances. Once Usagi regained her memories as Serenity, all focus shifted towards her and Mamoru. This show has what I call the main character syndrome. There is too much focus on the main character that the supporting characters are reduced to mere extras. The original series was like that too, but compared to this reboot, I feel like the original series was pretty fair in focusing on the supporting casts.

One good thing about SMC following the manga closely is that they decided to have a little bit more focus on the four generals serving Queen Beryl. In the manga, Naoko Takeuchi once included a picture pairing the Inner Senshis with the four earth generals: Venus/Kunzite, Mercury/Zoisite, Jupiter/Nephrite and Mars/Jadeite. Though Takeuchi never explicitly mentioned that these four had relationships during Silver Millennium, it was implied for Venus and Mars (if my memory serves me correctly) and since then, most fans assume she always had it in mind but just never explored it. Anyways, back to SMC, the generals overheard Beryl talking about brainwashing them and in that brief instant, regained their memories as Endymion’s protectors. Unfortunately, Beryl found out and quickly brainwashed them again. Next, we see them confronting the senshis during battle. Venus keeps asking Kunzite to wake up which prompts the rest of the senshis to ask her what she meant by that. Upon her revelation, the rest of the senshis regain their memories and due to the weight of it, are unable to fight back, leaving Sailor Moon to save the day. They then eventually regain their senses and attack the generals who escape once more.

Okay, so I am happy about one thing. I am happy that the creators of SMC decided to put a spotlight on the whole senshi/general pairings. I am however undecided on how I feel about the execution though. Some fans complained that the episode made the senshis look weak when they were unable to attack the generals after discovering they used to love them. On the flipside, there were those who argued that it’s only natural to be in shock when you discover the person you used to love is now your enemy. And of course there are those who don’t like the senshi/general pairings at all because they find that it’s too convenient for each of the princess’s guardians to fall for each of the prince’s protectors. Yes, I agree it seems a little too convenient and this is why it is crucial how this part of the story is executed. While the premise may be convenient, there are many ways the writers could’ve made this plotline more complex/added more layers to it. I’m not sure if they have anything of the sort in mind what with the limited budget they seem to have.

One thing is clear though, the generals will have to die at the end of the first arc or it would complicate the rest of the seasons (if the show survives that long). My guess is the senshis would kill them in a tragic scene or the generals would sacrifice themselves to save their prince or the senshis in an equally tragic scene. Shame really. Looks like my fan fiction won’t be realised on screen.

Saint Seiya Lost Canvas - Favourites

[Note: Minor spoilers in this post]

After watching the anime and finishing the manga, here's a compilation of my favourites from the series.

Favourite Gold Saints

Sagittarius Sisyphos
As a Sagittarian myself, I was happy that the Sagittarius Gold Saint had a bigger role to play in Lost Canvas. In the original series, he died saving the infant Athena from being murdered. In Lost Canvas, though it was never mentioned explicitly, he was clearly the leader of the Gold Saints and was one of the main movers in the war against Hades. He knew so much about the Twin Gods Hypnos and Thanatos that they endeavoured to keep him trapped in the Dream World.

Pisces Albafica
The Pisces Gold Saint in Lost Canvas may look like the Pisces Aphrodite from the original series but that’s where the similarities end. Albafica is more reserved due to his long training to become immune to poison and isn’t vain like Aphrodite. In fact, he was insulted when Gryphon Minos kept referring to him as “beautiful”.

Favourite Spectres

Heavenly Savage Star, Bennu Kagaho
From the first time I saw him fight Taurus Aldebaran, I thought he was one fascinating character. When Aldebaran said he’s not evil but full of rage, it just made me more curious to find out his back story. That and his insistence in only taking orders from Hades. This separates him from the rest of Hades's army who takes orders from Pandora.

Heavenly Star of Swift Courage, Wyvern Rhadamanthys
Intimidating and as fearsome as he was in the original series but in Lost Canvas, I got to know more about his motivations and just how far he would go to perform his duties.

Favourite Greek God

King of the Underworld, Hades
Yes, I know we should all be on the side of Sasha/Athena who fights for love and justice but I’m going to side with Alone/Hades. He radiates charisma and confidence and you can see why the whole Spectre army would fight for him again and again.

Most Memorable Fight

Pisces Gold Saint Albafica vs Heavenly Lofty Star, Gryphon Minos
Hands down the most memorable fight. It wasn’t an easy fight to watch due to Minos’s Cosmic Marionattion attack but it showed Albafica’s fortitude in protecting Sanctuary and the villages nearby. I also thought it had the best lines of the anime.

Most Awesome Moment

When Capricorn El Cid split into four the golden arrow sent by Sisyphos and Athena in order to defeat the Dream God Oneiros.

Most Touching Fight

Sagittarius Sisyphos vs Spectres
Seeing Sagittarius Sisyphos getting up again and again to protect the Saints from Garuda Aiacos and later on, from Sphinx Pharoah. You couldn’t help admire and be dismayed at the same time, at his tenacity.

Leo Regulus vs Wyvern Rhadamanthys
When Leo Regulus remembered his father during his fight against Wyvern Rhadamanthys.

Most Evil Spectre

Heavenly Fierce Heroic Star, Garuda Aiacos
This should be Mephistopheles but I am not including him in this since I feel he shouldn’t even be in the story. Therefore, the most evil would have to be Garuda Aiacos due to his definition of loyalty.

These aren't the only favourite characters/moments from the anime and manga, just those that I can think at the top of my head. The list would go on and on if I were to list all my favourite moments and characters :P
Until the next anime post! Hopefully we haven't heard the last of the Lost Canvas anime adaptation :)

Saint Seiya Weekend – Lost Canvas Manga

[Note: Minor spoilers in this post]

The Lost Canvas anime ran for two seasons. It was not renewed for a third season much to the fans’ disappointment. I still can’t quite figure why TMS Entertainment would not continue producing such a good series. Anyways, because of this, I decided to read the manga. I vaguely remember reading the end of it a few years ago but I can’t quite remember it. I found out the anime ended slightly less than halfway through the manga. Instead of just reading the end, I decided to read from where the anime stopped right until the end. It was a daunting task; there were around 100 chapters in total to read!

I delved in and WOW. The manga literally kept me at the edge of my seat for several of the chapters. There is a lot more that should be adapted to the anime. Just like Albafica’s quote when he faced Gryphon Minos, “My cosmo, my life, you haven’t seen anything yet!”, the same applies to the manga. At the end of the anime, we still haven’t seen Aquarius Degel and Scorpio Kardia in action. Leo Gold Saint and Gemini Gold Saint had not even been mentioned yet. Although we had seen Sagittarius Sisyphos in action in the anime, we had yet to see him in a one-on-one combat with one of Hades’s Spectre.

And boy did the manga deliver. The manga showed how the Saints and Spectres gave their all. You would think that it would be repetitive to watch one fight after another. Sometimes the lines do sound the same but because the characters and their backgrounds are so different, it doesn’t feel too repetitive. Camaraderie, loyalty, honour, love, arrogance, rage, sorrow and pure evil collided in a spectacular tale of human tragedy.

There were a few plotlines which raised an eyebrow, for instance, Tenma’s training in Kanon Island, and Aquarius Degel and Scorpio Kardia’s mission to Bluegrad. There were a few instances of friend against friend and brother against brother which I found slightly discomforting. But that was nothing compared to the dismay I felt at the introduction of Mephistopheles. That plotline reminded me too much of Code Geass and I really felt the story could do without it. I couldn’t fathom why the mangaka decided to include this. It disrupted the whole momentum and feel of the overall story even though it did give a plausible reason for Alone/Hades growing up together with Athena/Sasha and Tenma.

The motivation for certain characters were not made clear but that could’ve been due to the inaccurate translation or the mangaka’s intention of letting the readers figure it out. Nonetheless, I thought the manga was a very gripping read and would remember the stories for a long time to come.

Saint Seiya Weekend – Lost Canvas Anime

[Note: Minor spoilers in this post]

When I first watched Saint Seiya – The Lost Canvas in 2011, I liked it very much. The spinoff, set 243 years before the original Saint Seiya series, is as good as the original. In fact, it even improved on a few fronts. Top on my list is the fact that the fight scenes are not prolonged and not as painful to watch. By painful, I don’t mean the fight scenes in the original series were bad, instead it was quite realistic in conveying the pain felt by the Bronze Saints whenever they fought opponents stronger than them (being at the bottom of the Saint hierarchy that would be almost every opponent they came across).

The fight scenes in the original series had a lot of passion and emotions but outside of it, there wasn’t a lot of drama. In Lost Canvas, the drama is heightened when the human destined to be Hades’s vessel on Earth turned out to be Alone, who is the Pegasus’s Saint best friend and also the brother to Athena’s human form, Sasha. This is the central theme throughout the series but not the only one. There is also a lot of drama going on in terms of the back stories of other Saints, namely the Gold Saints as well as the Spectres, which brings me to characterisation.

Like the original series, Lost Canvas has great characterisation. I read a review where the author said that even though Virgo Gold Saint Asmita and Pisces Gold Saint Albafica only made their appearances for a couple of episodes, they were his favourite characters (up to the point the author watched the series). Lost Canvas does a superb job in delving into a lot of its character’s motivations and emotions. Not many series can do that. An anime/manga that automatically comes to mind would be Sailor Moon. It has so many great characters in its universe but they will forever be portrayed as mere supporting characters. There are never any moments where they shine apart from the token episode per season/arc. In Lost Canvas, even though Tenma, the Pegasus Saint is the main character, the series also gives ample screen time to the other characters, be it Alone, the Gold Saints and even the Spectres.

The Gold Saints definitely had a bigger role in Lost Canvas than in the original series, which really makes this series worth watching. In the original series, most of them were misguided and actually fought against Athena at the start of the Sanctuary war. In Lost Canvas, we get to see them fight for Athena right from the beginning, which is awesome. We get to see how they should have been had they not been deceived in the original series. They redeemed themselves in the end in the original series but not after a few of them had lost their lives :(

The production quality of Lost Canvas is top notch; the details on the Cloths and Surplices are adequately done. The animation is fluid and awkward movements are far and few in between. The background music is very different from the ones created by Seiji Yokoyama for the original series but it is solid. If the songs reminds you of the songs from Inuyasha, that’s because the music is produced by the same composer, Kaoru Wada.

No series is perfect and this is no exception. Overall, it is a solid animation but I had an issue with Tenma’s progression as a Saint. In the original Saint Seiya series, we saw how Seiya and his friends grew from mere Bronze Saints to Saints who could challenge Gold Saints and other stronger warriors. We saw how they struggled to attain their seventh sense. It was a long and painful struggle but the strength they gained in the end made sense. In Lost Canvas, we saw the great potential in Tenma in the beginning but after that he quickly became a Saint. We didn’t see his progression. We also saw how Sanctuary decided to protect him due to his link to Alone who had become Hades. It seemed that everyone was out to protect him, not because of his capabilities but because of his past.

Disney Weekend - Pocahontas

You never know what you might find when you channel surf...

This morning I came across Pocahontas on HBO HD. First thing that went through my mind was, "Wow, I can finally watch Pocahontas in high definition!". I thought I only wanted to watch until the part Pocahontas met John Smith face-to-face but I ended up watching it until the end. Not surprisingly, this part made me tear up:

I may not be a fan of romantic novels or rom coms but I do appreciate a tale of true love :P More importantly though was the message that love and courage can bridge the gap between two opposing forces. Like Grandmother Willow said:

Image credit: thedisneyprincess.tumblr.com and blogs.disney.com.

My Malaysia

By now, many have watched the video titled "Are Malaysians Racist?". The social experiment went viral on social media and provoked a lot of discussion about racism in Malaysia. There are some who say that while the video showcased what normal Malaysians are really like, it could also be skewed because the people in the video were asked to say racist things in front of a group of strangers; in private, these people might say something else. I did agree with that argument but after watching the video, I want to believe that all the people in the video were being truthful. I might be right or I might be wrong but that's not the point. The point is, I want to believe in a Malaysia that looks beyond race and religion. I have been rather jaded and cynical of late, due mostly to the rubbish spewed by certain politicians and the media outlets and people who keep highlighting it. Sure, we can't ignore the people who say inflammatory things but we shouldn't give them mileage either. We can acknowledge we have a problem and work towards a solution. I believe in a Malaysia that looks beyond race and religion.

Happy Malaysia Day :)

There's no time like now

Like most people, I tend to look at the past with a feeling of nostalgia and the inevitable yearning for “the good old days”. While it is nice to think about the past, it would be best not to delve into the details. I realised this when I read the journal I wrote when I was 18. I was full of angst and dark thoughts.

Some of my friends didn’t exactly treat me well back then and I was quite sensitive to what they did or did not do. Fourteen years later, I realise that a lot of people are like that and most of the time, they don’t do it intentionally. They may not always see you as a priority but I’ve learned that it’s okay. Sometimes I do it to other people too. People are not perfect and neither am I. But reading that journal almost made me become the insecure teenager I once was. I was depressed for a while. Lucky for me, I was back to normal two days later.

Being depressed, raging against the world, being in that victim mode, and dramatising every single deed or detail in your life may seem liberating but it’s not. If you succumb to it, you’ll just engulf yourself in your own cocoon of darkness. I’ve gotten past that and I don’t want to go there again.

Here's an apt quote I found on Pinterest: