#2: Saint Seiya - The Hades Chapter

I miss the original 80's opening for Saint Seiya. It was all synthesizers and sound effects and yelling lyrics. It was loud and fast and hilariously dated probably the second it was released and I loved it. The opening for this OAV series is much more sedate, with a pretty female voice singing soft lyrics and very little sound effects nonsense backing her up. It just isn't the same.

Unfortunately it isn't the only thing that isn't the same. Made almost 20 years after the original television series, Saint Seiya - The Hades Chapter has the same character styles (giant hair, rounded limbs, pointy faces) as the original show BUT the animation itself uses more modern techniques. It's done with computers instead of being hand drawn so it's all smooth and shiny but it looks weird with the old school style. I had trouble getting passed how odd it looked so focusing on the story itself was a little difficult.

It may have also been a little difficult because I never finished the original Saint Seiya series, so don't know exactly what happened with all of the characters. I did some internet research on it so I could kind of follow along with the new show, but surprisingly enough the plot of Saint Seiya is kind of complex and there are dozens of characters so it can still be confusing trying to figure out what is going on.

Basically what I got from the first episode was that Hades was coming from the Underworld to fight Athena, or Saori in this incarnation, and the Saints were going to have to stop him. But Saori forbid the Bronze Saints (like Seiya) from helping out as she was worried they'd all just get their butts kicked. Mu, the Aries Gold Saint, was told to do Hades' bidding and kill Athena/Saori, though I'm not sure why exactly he had to follow Hades' orders when, as a Saint, he should be working for Athena. And Seiya showed up out of nowhere and picked a fight with some dead Saints who were brought back by Hades to do bad deeds, but was told off by Mu for being a weak little Bronze Saint who had been dismissed by their goddess.

Really there was a lot of talking and fighting and surprised facial expressing in the first episode. I'm kind of surprised to look back and realize just how much happened when at the time it seemed like mostly talking. But maybe I was missing things cause I really was stuck on that weird combination of 80's/early 2000's animation. With only 31 episodes in the OAV series, I'll probably get around to watching the rest soon, to see if I can follow what all is going on finally if for no other reason.

#1: Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Ghost Whispers

I love Ghost in the Shell.

Like LOVE it.

I've seen the original film. I've read the original manga. I've seen the anime series and the second feature film and read the second manga.

I cosplayed The Major at an anime convention once. I have a movie poster and a manga-based wall scroll in my room.

I even have a tattoo of The Major.

So when I say I love Ghost in the Shell, I really, REALLY mean it.

And seeing a new take on the story has been absolutely delightful. Ghost in the Shell: Arise is an OAV series made up of five hour long 'episodes'. There is also a TV series apparently (Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Alternative Architecture) but I haven't gotten to see that.

Anyways, Netflix has several of the OAV episodes so I've been working my way through those. I'll admit it took me a bit to really get into the first one (Ghost Pain) but I think that was because it's such a different - and yet not entirely different - take on the story. As it begins Section 9 doesn't exist yet and The Major, Batou, Togusa, and all the rest don't even know each other. I kinda missed the team being the team. But as the episode progressed I got more and more hooked and by the end I was just as in love as I had ever been.

And by episode two (Ghost Whispers) I was a fan. The plot of this one basically breaks down like this: Kusanagi has gone freelance working for the government, though Aramaki really wants her to just give in and join Section 9 already. While working on her own, The Major must battle memory wipes, traffic control hacks, possibly untrustworthy robots, possibly trustworthy members of other government agencies, and people she'll eventually be comrades with.

It's interesting watching the way things are set up here with Kusanagi and Batou and the rest. There is actually a scene in this episode with them beating the crap out of each other. These are people that love each other and respect each other and have each other's backs NO MATTER WHAT by the time we meet them in the original manga/film. And yet here they are wailing on each other so hard they're ripping off mechanical body parts. It looks like quite the bonding experience.

I'll admit some moments during the episode were a bit confusing for me, especially when I was watching in Japanese with subtitles. But that kinda happens from time to time with Ghost in the Shell. The plot of the second movie was so confusing for me that after multiple viewings I'm still not entirely sure what happened in it. It was really pretty to look at though.

Ghost in the Shell: Arise is also really pretty to look at. The Major looks much younger and smaller and more feminine than she did in the motion picture and in the Stand Alone Complex TV series. She still kicks ass though, and I actually quite like her red leather jacket/pants combo outfit (and yep, I totally have plans to cosplay it at a convention sometime soon).

While not every reboot/sequel/prequel/side story/new series/etc is worth watching, I'm gonna say this fan is more than satisfied with what the creators of Ghost in the Shell: Arise have accomplished and I look forward to seeing more of this series as it comes out.

The Triumphant (not quite) Return of the AniMia365 Project!

This has been a wacky year. I've done a whole lot of no personal blogging.

I miss it.

So I'm gonna rectify the situation and get back into my writing/blogging/watching projects.

Starting with this one.

Once again, I'm gonna attempt to watch a different anime (not necessarily a brand new never before seen by me anime, just a different one) every day for 365 days. There is so much new stuff out now, and I've got access to so many streaming services with good anime collections, that I'm excited to see what all I come up with to watch.

And this time, dammit, I'm gonna make it past 30 days/30 anime (that seems to be where I top out most times when I attempt this).

Wish me luck, folks, cause today AnimeMia365 begins anew!