Why Dragon Ball GT was a mistake.

Dragon Ball, the 1982 manga which stole the hearts of young readers around the world rocking the likes of Shonen manga in the process together with it's anime in 1986 and it's second part dubbed  "Dragon ball Z" , undoubtedly the most famous adaptation,  in 1989. As the manga ended after a good ten year run and the anime followed up a year later the first of many generations were devastated by the end of their trusted childhood saiyan causing a massive plea for a continuation . It is horrible -even heartbreaking- when a part of your dire childhood ends after such a long run, we all wan't more. But at what price? An ending isn't always the worst alternative.

Rumored to be the best manga ever made, Akira Toriyama struck gold when he unleashed dragon ball upon the world captivating many generation which still grows t'ill this day. It's testament goes as far as being an inspiration for the big 3 of shonen manga's: Naruto (Massashi Kishimoto), Bleach (Tite Kubo) and  One piece ( Eiichiro Oda). 

Being part of the late golden age generation, I was first accustomed to dragon ball z and its Ocean dub when it hit television here in 2001 long enough to remember the sudden transition to the Funimation dub , before dragon ball kai and it's chewed up dub. And before I knew what Dragon Ball GT was...

The Inevitable end

After 325 chapter the story was drawn to an end (pun not intended... at first). It may not have been the best and most fulfilling one but it was the perfect closure we needed; peace was restored for a long time Gohan was married and independent with a promising child and Goku found a new hero who is the reincarnated version of the most ruthless villain, the only one who effectively destroyed the earth!Thus a perfect hero in his second life, kind yet inexperienced and full of power. Though we had a hard time accepting that , Akira Toriyama ensured peace that seemed to last. But with the never ending requests coupled with the creators consent and Funimations opportunity to milk yet another franchise...

Let's face it: when you love something to the point of Nostalgia it becomes hard to admit that it had to end even if the ending was right and satisfying, people will want more at any cause even if it ruins the franchise and what it stood for.
We all know that secretly, the only thing fans wanted was to relive the experience even if forced to choose between moving on or a more plausible alternative. Well, this happens when people aren't careful for what they wish for... 64 episodes of filler.

Grand Tour... Seriously?

Every transition in dragon ball from dragon gang to Z warrior had it's traits. We all enjoyed the journey to find the dragon ball and the friendship and adventure which had Chinese element based on "The journey to the west" as we explored the universe and it's many enemies we had the occasional comical relief be it the odd names (Briefs, pilaf, Oolong) or the perverted hermit. A good writer knows when to sacrifice element for innovative features to ensure the good rating which leads to the following:
I think Akira Toriyama realized that you cannot mix two crucial elements while maintaining an exciting story.When the journey ended, Toriyama went another path and choose a more action orientated approach by implementing other worlds and life forms deeming earthlings too weak to spice it up he also indulged his character into the new found dimension. Drifting away from the trusty monkey king to powerful Saiyan Effectively differentiating the two parts of goku's life. Dragon ball GT however, went a different way...

The Goku in Gt feels like a desperate attempt to recreate the dragon ball journey on a galactic level

Although there was a debatable superior among the two parts, they where both acknowledged as great due to their respective properties. But what if you could take the best out of both? The answer is: you can't.
By introducing the black-star dragon balls (and pilaf for some reason I can't possibly understand) which turned Goku back into the child he was in the beginning of all saga's, giving him somewhat the same allure as in dragon ball. It is pretty obvious that that such convenience-with the exception of made up dragon ball scattering around the galaxy- did not have any significant impact on Goku or his surrounding. Not only did they have a start, they also had a "re-newed" hero to attrack long time fans. If not for that then why didn't they just keep Uub like intended?  And (off-topic)  for god's sake why is vegeta's hair flat ?!

Thoug it was "supervised" by Akira Toriyama it did not mean it was his work, the only thing memorable added to the mix that could be credited to him was the super saiyan 4 form which was beyond believe.
GT went to far and contradicted  the original work by forcing important characters who settled down in the peaceful years  to take up the mantel as earth protector once again. Not only does it feel cheap it also has consequences on your image of the said characters in the original work, like Trunks & Goten who I can't stand in GT and because of it cannot 'un-link' the image of the young duo in Dragon ball z and their unfortunate  aftermath. It was ridiculously obvious that the younger generation was more interesting by the teenage life than battle, but due to the incomplete list of active Z- warriors and active saiyans left at the end of chapter 425 they had to improvise and make one dysfunctional group of fighters who were extra's for the only 2 characters who mattered, I don't even have to mention their names it is that obvious.

That is it... I may hit some nerves I may get some positive feedback, but I'm only describing the obvious. Do comment about your own view, It would be appreciated.

Also...

If you enjoyed this, you have no right to call the Garlic -and any other filler- bad

M.

• Follow me on Facebook / twitter (Subscribe! )

Akira (1988), Cyber Punk mayhem.

Directed by: Katsuhiro Otomo | Written by: Katsuhiro Otomo, Izo Hashimoto
Produced by: TMS entertainment Ltd.

Awards

• Silver Scream Award; 3rd Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival

"What makes it work is the astounding animation, 160,000 cells worth. The detail is exceptionally realistic, fluid and multidimensional, suggesting both a futuristic world and ancient quests. Otomoto's neon-lit Neo-Tokyo is a marvel of post-apocalyptic tension and desires. "Akira" is equally astounding for its color design, whether in the brightness of Neo-Tokyo, the damp darkness of its underground or the steely edge of its scientific outposts and military hardware. It's a complete world sprung from Otomoto's pen and imagination, and realized in 327 colors." - Richard Harrington, Washington Post

During the successful manga that met its end in 1990 after 6 successful volumes, an anime adaptation was made directed and written in 1988. Now I know what you're thinking: An Anime adaptation Directed and written by the same artist? What could go wrong? Well nothing, until you realize that he crammed almost 2 volumes worth of story into two hours with additional plot structure worth two more volumes... The franchise that heavily influenced modern science fiction and had the media impact of an atomic bomb in it's time ladies and gentlemen. A great manga. But is it a great movie?

The story of Akira is a well known one which tells the story of a post apocalyptic neo-tokyo set near the ruin's of the original Tokyo which was destroyed in an explosion 32 years ago during world war III. You live the moments of Kaneda the leader of the biker gang "capsule" and his frustrated best friend Tetsuo before an unfortunate bike accident caused by a supernatural events which is the first of mysteries to cause a raft between kaneda and Tetsuo who grows insane with his awakened powers after the accident due to a military proof which could potentially revive Akira, the man hinted to be behind World War III. As good and overwhelming as that story was in the manga. Yes, It is still the very same movie that shook the anime fandom in the 90's and inspired many more like minded artist and I do acknowledge this movie and it's director as brilliant, but the filtering between the manga and anime was rather thin maybe due to a short coming of material leaving only the feel to entertain its viewers into a state of constant interest due to this animated wonder and the cyber-punk gore that has been shown to it's fullest which was quite nice. Yet not for me.
The visuals are stunning for it's time and well made, exactly like the manga if I may add with the exception of shading. Neo-tokyo was captured beautifully enhancing the negative feel and desolated mood. I was constantly amazed by the futuristic view this work possessed, especially in the beginning of the movie during the gang battles that seemed familiar somehow. Despite the few changes to the story it turned out to be a good time and a well made adaptation.Until the complications kicked in....


 The main issue of this movie is that Katsuhiro Otomo was fully aware that he had to bring his unfinished work into the picture to all it's glory even if it meant bringing some elements that would only work with the continuation of the next volumes which he altered in the process,but in vain.
The battles felt rushed and half the times I was thrown off by all the explosions that formed the final battles which needed to be stretched to at least an hour. I seriously wondered what happened after major building exploded and antagonists faces were taken over with surprise and fear, every time I had to pick of after the said events, it also felt like the story had to do the same . I sincerely tried to enjoy this movie and I did when the story kicked in but I was annoyed by the constant attempts of the military units to stop Tetsuo to the point that the city had to suffer under it. Wouldn't it have been better if the movie was split into two individual parts to give it some breading space? The subtle but brutal violence is an Akira trademark that -if done well- expresses the sense of realism and dystopian taste that can worsen anytime to a full scale war, which was ruined...


The other thing that suffered because of  aforementioned aspects was character development which wasn't gradually delivered as the word "development" suggest but placed out of convenience. The movie didn't have a lot of time to meddle inside the soft spots to create a lasting sense of understanding and compassion nor did the two volumes this was based on. The repercussions of this are huge. Not only is there low to none credibility of their friendship (unless if you read the manga) but their is also no urge to understand the struggle that goes through this movie.
If only the characters where as nice as the way they were intended too.You only saw the brave Kaneda leader of the capsule gang, a true failure of a womanizer against the frustrated Tetsuo which inferiority towards his best friend fueled his insanity. Great personalities that could have been greater, to bad.

Click to enlarge

Rating
7,0 -  Post-Apocalyptic nutshell

Yes a 7, I may get a lot of hate for this but I got my reasons!Despite the innovative and the -in its time- groundbreaking story it did not succeed to bring it's full potential to the big screen.Given the fact that the manga adaptation was directed and written by no other than it's creator . You are left  wondering if this movie stood a chance as the animated equal of a well-drawn cyber punk epic. My guess is that he should've waited after the 5th volume to make this animation. What do you think? Did you like the movie? Please leave your impressions below.

• This animated film is not suited for children due to excessive violence, please remember that.

M.

• Follow me on Facebook / twitter (Subscribe! )

Annecy 2012! Magnific poster!

Every year again and again my curiosity is filled with one of the greatest animation film festival  (Which i can't go too...do cry me a river...) which I'm currently channeling on it's new featured poster Designed by Marion Franck. Ingenious isn't it?

Annecy 2012,a curvacious visual...      - Posted a week ago on their Facebook page

Am I the only one reminded of this when seeing this poster? Anyone?

Annecy 2012 Official Selection. 
Over 2 374 where send to this glorious festival and -if you wondered yes that is more than 300 hours of film- of which the tremendous majority was rejected leaving only the gold after carefully removing the few stones.

As of march 2012 the official selection was made as follow:

• 49 Short Films 
• 21 TV Series 
• 2 TV Specials 
• 5 Educational Films, Science or Enterprises
• 18 Commercial Films
• 14 Videoclips
• 55 Graduate Films
• 40 Short Films (non-competitive)

Ao no Exorcist （エクソシスト - Ao no Ekusoshisuto）

Yukio Okumura from Blue Exorcist

Under the category of "TV Series" is an Anime adapted from the manga written by Kazue Kato which is being published in the monthly magazine Jump Square ,  the Shōnen Equivalent of the more popular   Jump. I was quite surprised when this particular anime (the only one in the list by the way) was chosen out of  the vast variety of submitted/recommended series. It might be time for me to re-watch and re-evaluate this one.


Annecy 2012 - Expect great things!

M.

• Facebook / twitter (Follow me!)