J-Drama Review: Fishbowl Wives (2022)

 For the entirety of my viewing of Netflix’s latest adult drama Fishbowl Wives (2022) I compared myself endlessly to the pensioner Mrs. Glick from The Simpsons. Anyone else remember the scene where Bart is at her house weeding the garden to raise some pocket money and Mrs. Glick is sat in her armchair watching a steamy day-time soap opera and commenting “filthy… but genuinely arousing”?

 This eight-part Japanese drama, inspired by Ryo Kurasawa’s 2017 manga series of the same name, will have you sitting there Mrs. Glick Style with your knitting (as I very much was) picking your jaw back up off the floor and praying no other member of your family walks in on you watching such smut.

 But Fishbowl Wives is compelling, heartfelt smut. Set in “The Heights”, an ultra-glamorous multi-storey Tokyo apartment complex. The secret misery and despair of the complexes married denizens is hidden well behind a mask of outward success and affluence. King and Queen of Living a Lie are the Hiraga family.

 Chain hair-salon owning extraordinaire power couple Sakura Hiraga (played by the warm and engaging Ryoko Shinohara) and her charming, handsome husband Takuya (played by Masanobu Ando, best known as Kazuo Kiriyama in Kinji Fukasaku’sBattle Royale) are equal parts envied and adored by fellow residents of “The Heights”. A beautiful pair of goldfish swimming around a shining bowl for all to admire, but the water within is dangerously dirty.

 The viewer soon learns that their relationship is more akin to that of Julia Roberts and Patrick Bergin’s in Sleeping withthe Enemy. Takuya is a serial womanizer and gaslighting wife beater. How much more will Sakura put up with before she’s pushed to breaking point? Isn’t there anyone who can help her find the natural strength and resilience inside her to take back control of her life?

 Cue Sakura’s goofily adorable extra-marital love interest HarutoKazama. Haruto owns the local goldfish shop and has more than a few skeletons in his closet, but will face them all if it means he can be with Sakura, who he genuinely loves. However, loving another man’s wife is risky business at the best of times, especially when the wife is viewed by the husband as a personal possession and punching bag for the sole use of the husband. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that Takuya is not going to be receptive to having another man take his toy out of his sandbox.

 Featuring disturbing scenes of sexual assault and domestic violence, the Sakura/Takuya/Harutolove triangle is the central pillar storyline. It’s a plot provokes strong reactions as a Westerner to the Japanese attitudes towards, and divorce laws governing, those trapped in violent marriages. Divorce, regardless of the circumstances, is still considered shameful.

 Less shameful than divorce, apparently, is infidelity. If there’s no shame in infidelity, then let me tell you, the other “Goldfish Wives” of the show are living proud as punch.

 There’s Bento Wife whose husband gets a little more than he bargains for when bringing in a third party to their bedroom. There’s Outsourcing Wife, who reasons that if her husband won’t give her the baby she so yearns for, someone else can. 

The Running Wife thinks that her husband is running away with her life and now she’s left with an identity that doesn’t belong to her. A desperate act of cheating is the only path to communication and ultimate reconciliation. 

And Renovation Wife, an adulterous, raging bitch at the best of times, cowed by an overbearing mother-in-law and high maintenance husband, finds solace and self-acceptance in the arms of a damaged contractor.

 Over-seeing, and openly encouraging these wives to stray and find both emotional and sexual satisfaction from whatever source they can is resident mystic Mei. Is Mei really psychic? Or does she just like seeing women take back some control over their own destinies and break free from the social constraints trapping all these goldfish women in ill-fitting bowls?

 Beautifully shot, clever “fishbowl” style camera work, exquisite lighting to capture and reflect moods, gorgeous musical underscore and rife with metaphor and social commentary, Fishbowl Wives is a gripping drama that is as heart-breaking as it is heart-racing. Imagine… a sexually explicit Desperate Housewives with meatier plots and considerably better acting.

 This won’t be for everyone. I enjoyed it immensely, it was hard to watch at times and not every minute of the show is flawless. But, if you’re looking for an excuse to melodramatically gasp and cry “Escandalo!” at the T.V. while clapping your hand to your cheek - then this is the show for you.

 5 stars from Straight Outta Kanto!

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K-Movie Review: Love & Leashes (2022)

If you’re looking for Valentine’s Netflix viewing with more… bite, then South Korean romantic drama Love and Leashes (2022) is the spicy little flick for you!

Set in the office of a high powered television network, Love and Leashes focuses on the stunningly gorgeous PR rep Ji-woo, played by K-Pop veteran Seohyun. Ji-woo is a competent, feisty career woman who is frustrated at constantly being over-ridden and undermined by her misogynistic male boss.

Along comes the almost unbearably adorable new boy to the office, “Mr. Perfect” Ji-hoo. Ji-hoo is also played by the K-Pop alumni Lee-jun Young. Ji-woo is immediately rankled by Ji-hoo because he is able to express the exact same opinions as her in the boardroom – but with impunity because he’s male.

In textbook rom-com fashion, despite being highly irritated by this main, Ji-woo can’t but help be greatly intrigued by this mysterious Ji-hoo. And judging by the covert looks in the staff canteen, the feeling is mutual.

With the help of a wrongly delivered – and deeply private, highly embarrassing - package to the office, Ji-woo and Ji-hoo’s (you can see how the package went astray with those names!) relationship is about to go from coy to kinky overnight.

Ji-woo and Ji-hoo swiftly enter a consensual S&M contract. Ji-woo finds a way to release all her career frustrations and gain control once again over her life and Ji-hoo finally has someone who can cater to his needs without judgment.Over time however, their feelings for each other blossom and the straight forward lines of slave and master blur.

Love and Leashes, while not without its flaws, is a visually stylish cute and quirky romance with a great underscore. Lightly tackling issues such as sexism, female empowerment, the public stigma of kink-shaming, the dangers of online dating and the importance of being authentic in one’s own sexual identity, the movie manages to carefully balance the sweet with the sour.

Perfect for fans of the hilarious Netflix comedy Bonding (but much less gritty) and definitely better in every way possible than the trash Twilight rip-off that is 50 Shades of Grey – this is a surprisingly heart-warming little gem that will keep you and your loved one cuddled up on the couch under a toasty blanket for a couple of hours. Just don’t watch this with your doggo around, the poor pal may be highly offended at certain scenes! 

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Anime Movie Review: Belle (2021)

And next on The Masked Singer, everybody please welcome Belle to the stage! I jest, but still, it's hard not to draw comparisons between the two. Belle is the latest cinematic offering from Mamoru Hosoda, who brought us epic animated yarns such as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Mirai and The Boy and the Beast.

Belle centres around mopey young teenager Suzu. Suzu is still grieving over the not-so-recent tragic loss of her mother, growing more distant by the day with her father, withers at school around her more vibrant and confident peers and, worst of all for this once passionate musician, Suzu has lost her ability to sing. 

Things seem beyond all hope for listless Suzu until she one day stumbles upon a fully immersive social media site "U". U is a vast, vast virtual reality world where users have new personas created for them digitally based on their own personal biometrics.

In real life, Suzu is a gawky, be-freckled wallflower with no voice. In U, and under the careful career managment of her hilarious best friend Hiroka, she is transformed into the stunningly beautiful vocaloid Belle. (Bell being the English translation of her name). Gaining international mass media attention and fame as virtual singer Belle, the world becomes obsessed with discovering her true identitiy. 

However, it's not only the beautiful songstress that the denizens of U are dying to unmask. Who is this ferocious Dragon character going around causing a terrible ruckus and running amok!? Is he as vicious as he seems, or will music ultimately soothe the savage beast...?

As the lines between IRL and the digital world disintegrate, it's time for Suzu to leave the past behind and take firm charge of her future.

Belle is a blend of traditional fairytale, fantasy and vey grim reality. Suzu's rural home town is one of the most lush and verdant animated depictions of Japan I've ever seen, with painstaking day-to-day homelife details. 

I have a few issues with the world of U. The physics and mechanics of the virtual world aren't clearly explained, Suzu just appears to enter through her mobile phone and ear-pods, nothing more, which raises a lot of questions about whether she's slumped in the middle of the road drooling while her brain is transported to the fantastic other world!?

The blending of worlds and the themes of loss and triumph are nothing new for Mamoru Hosoda, but there's plenty of highs and lows, feelz and humour in Belle to keep audiences entertained and engaged. The visuals are spectacular, the plot is meaty and well paced and the sound track is exquisite.

Despite all these boxes being ticked, this still isn't the greatest movie of Hosoda's and feels like an elevated version of Summer Wars that's more style than substance. I'd give Belle a 7/10, mainly for the giant sonic whale that floats through U acting as Belle's personal stage. He is a breathtakingly majestic good boy.

Don't just take my word for this though! I saw Belle as a preview at The Lighthouse Cinema, Dublin with thanks to the Japanese Film Festival Ireland but it's now readily available for all nerds across Irish cinemas.

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J-Drama Review: Followers (2020)

 

If the grey old Irish winter has left you feeling gloomy and unglamorous then may I recommend a hearty dose of technicolour escapism?

Mika Ninagawa's latest T.V. series Followers (now on Netflix) is a compelling and vibrant drama focusing on two friend groups of sinfully stylish Tokyo urbanites. 

Tokyo Urbanite Group A are a gaggle of gorgeous, successful professional women (and their assorted lovers and gay best friends) who confidently navigate their careers in photography, fashion and celebrity PR to greater heights. Think Japanese Sex and the City.

Tokyo Urbanite Group B are an equally attractive, but younger gang of scrappy, struggling actors and artists. Reliant on an over-saturated social media and the nepotistic whims of the uncaring Gate Keepers to Success for for any crumb of recognition, these young up and comers are edging closer to eternal obscurity. 

Followers skillfully collides these two worlds with far reaching consequences for all concerned. The obscure shoot to fame to notoriety then to obscurity once more and the famous revaluate their tenuouse roles at the top and the harsh reality of an idustry that quntifies everyone's value regardless of past endeavours.

A vivid portrayal of how not only do all lives, no matter what the social sphere, touch each other in one way or another, Followers shows the staggering power held by those that have a high social media following.

However, it's not all eye-melting haute couture, fever-dream monster cafes, Asian celebrity cameos (Miyavi, Yu Yamada, Monsta X to name but a few) and insta-worthy cityscapes of Tokyo at night. Hard hitting issues such as miscarriage, breast cancer, women in the workplace, homophobia, love, loss, back-stabbery and the public crucifixion of the famous no longer deemed worthy of fame are topics expertly handled without any overt preachy message. The drama simply unfolds before the viewer who is left to form their own opinions.

While Sacrifice x Success is the dual headed dragon each of the charcters need to over come, it's ultimately friendship and authenticity in following one's own path that is the key to happiness.

Followers is deliciously binge-worthy at just nine forty minute episodes (I watched them all in one go one stormy Saturday) and certainly has the plot subtance to go with the almost unbearably striking visual style. 

Given the electric use of neons and bold, clashing prints, it's no surprise to learn that the director for this, Mika Ninagawa, was also the director for the equally electric 2007 pop art geisha movie Sakuran featuring the rebellious beauty Anna Tsuchiya (Kamikaze Girls)

So, grab the duvet and have a massive mug of tea close at hand and forget all your troubles... by watching someone else's! Just be prepared to lose a few K in your bank account afterward booking the next flight to Tokyo! #holidayenvy #doinitforthegram

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Junji Ito's Sensor-y overload - Manga Review

With recent collected volumes of Junji Ito’s work Venus in the Blind Spot and Remina showcasing his science fiction endeavours over traditional fright works, one would be forgiven for thinking that the mangaka has changed direction of late.

However, galactic terror has always been prevelant in some small creeping way in Ito’s work dating back to Uzumaki. Yet there’s no denying that Junji Ito’s lifelong love of Lovecraft has been running rampant these last few years. Viz Signature’s 2019 anthology Sensor is the ultimate pinnacle of that admiration and inspiration.

While there may be more things in heaven and earth than in my dreamt philosophy, with Sensor, Junji Ito has eschewed earthly horrors and is focusing solely on heaven’s.

Originally titled Travelogue of the Succubus, Sensor starts off with a striking young woman, Kyoko Byakuya, alone at the foot of the dormant volcano Mount Sengoku.

Surrounded by masses of ethereal floating strands of golden volcanic debris known as “Angel Hair” (also referred to outside the manga as “Pele’s Hair”, after the Hawaiian volcano goddess) Kyoko is approached by a mysterious man. This stranger not only knows her name, but claims that he and his fellow villagers of Kiyomi have been awaiting her arrival.

Despite Kyoko being evidently weirded out by this man’s bizarre claims, she can’t ignore that she herself is unsure why she was “drawn” to this desolate region.

Acquiescing to the man’s request, Kyoko visits the archaic and Angel Hair laden village of Kiyomi, meets the star gazing locals and inadvertently starts an interstellar chain of colossally, cosmically devastating events.

Not content with just spinning a yarn about a space based apocalypse, Sensor evolves into a genre defying manga.

From UFOs, ESP, Akashic records, astral projection, pre-destiny, time travel, immaculately detailed historical period piece chapters about the 16th century Shogunate’s persecution of Christianity practising Japanese all the way to stalkers, the damned souls of suicide victims and an intrepid reporter hot on the heels of a scoop bigger than the unvierse.

While oftentimes confusing and disappointing, this is quintessentially Ito, yet Ito outside the box.

Content wise, Sensor is indeed a sensory overload. Not every plotline pays off and certain concepts were too high-falutin for this astrologically challenged ignoramus to fully follow (to the detriment of my overall enjoyment). I’d feel confident that other readers might share my opinion.

I say that from a science point of view and not from a storytelling point of view. Two story arcs in Sensor were exquisitely thought-provoking and world class examples of Ito’s literary mastery.

The aforementioned historical time travel chapter “Light and Dark” depicting in grim detail the tragic fates of the poor Christian Kiyomi villagers after they are discovered by the perverse guards of the Christian hating Shogunate is fascinating. It’s also all the more poignant and down-right shocking as it is a scenario lifted directly from real life.

“Battle at Bishagaura” is a harrowing ordeal for the reader. The cliffs of Bishaguara are a suicide hotspot and it’s certainly hotting up. Despite suffering an infestation of grotesque, pulsating bugs, amiable local cafe workers endeavour to dissuade visitors to the notorious cliffs from carrying out their darkest thoughts. However, akin to the conversational taboo that is suicide, some things - and bugs - just become too damn hard to ignore.

While no one can fault Junji Ito’s stunning, and at times sickening, art work, I feel the art is far too sanitized in Sensor. Ito is known for his unique, dark, cross hatched hand drawn style manga, in this it’s almost completely absent and even the most violent of visuals feels watered down.

This dilution trickles down to the flimsy character development. Coupled with the confusing scientific jargon, there wasn’t enough there to make me emotionally invest in the characters and their ordeals or, honestly? Care. At. all.

Overall, Sensor provides a scrappy, plodding enjoyment with body horror imagery that is technically “out there” but at the same time textbook Ito. Ito’s own lacklustre ambivalence towards his own book is tangible in the anthology’s afterword.

I adore Junji Ito and appreciate that he’s a creator who keeps striving for new ways to completely ruin your peace with the world around you (everything is a malevolent sentient villain sent to destroy mankind!!!) but I do much prefer his more grounded, slice-of-life horrors.

That being said, as it is about the angels triumphing over an evil force in the name of Christianity, and a lovely star in the sky - Sensor is useful fodder for reviewers looking for a Christmas blog post.

Feliz Navidad.

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Pokemon Snap for Nintendo Switch Review (2021)

Say 'Cheese', baby! The beloved nineties classic Pokemon Snap was at long last released for Nintendo Switch on April 30th 2021. Originally played on the iconic N64 back in the day and having had low-key forays on various Wii consoles, the hype for Snap to be rebooted for the portable Switch has been... immense.

Allow me to take you back briefly in time, dear reader, and transport you to a world where the pop culture phenomenon that is Pokemon exploded like a Graveler with Self-Destruct on to the unsuspecting youth. 

Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow for the handheld Nintendo Game Boy were hotter than a pissed off Charizard and the franchise was producing more merchandise and spin-offs than a Ditto in a Day Care produces Eggs.

Pokemon Snap launched in Japan in 1999 with its Western release in 2000. Snap was a basic first person shooter game. Except you shot the Pokemon with a camera. Focusing on Todd Snap - an earnest young voyeur who made numerous cameos in the hit television spin off series. You, as Todd, travel around a small island by jeep taking photos of the denizen Pokemon, advancing through the game based on the quality of your photographs.

(A little bit like a less depressing version of instagram but with more Jurassic Park tendencies.)

The original Snap was a low-effort high result game that was as addictive as it was endearing and enjoyable. Despite being bound by the game's Jeep/One Way Rail system, there was still a level of on-the-ground immersion in the world of Pokemon never before experienced.

Getting to interact with the Pokemon that you previously only battled with now in a non-combat environment was a delight. Seeing your favourite critters up close in their habitat acting goofy or kawaii was a real mood lifter. And after the last year, it's fair to see the mood of the globe needs to be lifted!

Enter 2021 and the eye-melting stunningly pure graphics of the Switch. A game as treasured in the nostalgic hearts of nerds across the world as Snap always poses difficulties for reviewers. Are we praising it unfairly for Nostalgic Purposes? Or are we critiquing it too harshly for Nostalgic Purposes?

After 72 hours of straight playing I can honestly say that your precious childhood memories are safe! While the story has been lightly updated and new characters introduced, this game only benefits from the advanced technology. 

The region has been expanded upon, the PhotoDex now contains a greater variety of Pokemon from later games and not just the first 151 and the fluid game play allows for hours of your time to be frittered away on this whimsically wholesome game. Pester Balls are now Fluff Balls and the good old Jeep is a space age Neo One teleportational pod. Also, the tender friendship between Pichu and Grookey is the most healing salve for the soul out there.

My only quibbles with the game would be the ridiculously long loading lag between scenes; also the fact that there seems to be a fault in the camera recognition when deliberately snapping specific items or Pokemon and it logs as an un-recognisable/unusable in the PhotoDex. 

I'm sure you can imagine that there will be quite the online forum feeding frenzy later in the year the closer we get to the Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl re-boots, so for now, just sit back, forget your many crushing worries and enjoy the gentle Neo One ride through the opulent and verdant Lentil region.

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Pokémon Creepypasta: Lavender Town Syndrome

 *Trigger Warning: Suicide. Self Harm. Overgrown Millennial Nerds.*

Konnichiwa! Bonjour! Oi! Hey you! Yeah you, Straight Outta Kanto! What d'ya think you're doing still playing Pokémon!? You're an adult! Pokémon is a children's game! But... what if the only safe time to play Pokémon is as an adult? What, you think that's an excuse to be a giant over-sized child of a nerd? Nah-uh! Pokémon is DANGEROUS for children, haven't you ever heard of... Lavender Town Syndrome!?

Let me paint you a picture, dear readers. It's the mid-to-late nineties. “Pocket Monsters” is the hit new Nintendo Game boy craze in Japan, soon to explode globally and change Western Pop Culture forever. The first two Japanese Pokémon games Red and Green are being gobbled up by wee kiddies everywhere. Choosing their partner Pokémon, playing with balls and naming their rival “ass hat” and “butt face”. Fun, innocent times. Until... they reach the part of the game where they arrive in... Lavender Town.

Lavender Town. Ruining childhoods since 1996.

Lavender Town is a sleepy little village at the foot of Rock Tunnel, inhabited by... GHOSTS! It's main architectural point of interest is the Pokémon graveyard “Pokémon Tower.” Not only does that change things up in the lore because if there's a Pokémon graveyard, that means your furry little friends can die. Bit heavy for a “children's” game. Not only that, the Tower is completely haunted by menacing ghost sprites determined to banish you from the building.

AS WELL (yes, it gets worse!) The building is plagued with traditional Japanese Shinto style exorcists who are all displaying the behaviours of persons possessed by spirits. These possessed exorcists make various demands for your blood and your soul. Cheerful!

ON TOP OF THAT.

The chief ghost of Pokémon Tower is in fact the restless, vengeful spirit of a murdered Pokémon Marowak. Marowak was murdered for profit by the evil Team Rocket, much to her child, Cubone's, latent distress. So... dead friends, dead mothers, exorcists, ghosts... It can't get worse, can it?

YES.

It's the Lavender Town musical score that is the primary cause for concern and the fuel behind a decade or more of urban legends and creepypastas. The theme that plays throughout the town is deeply eerie and unsettling to begin with. Perfect atmosphere for a haunted AF town.

HOWEVER.

Rumour has it. In the original Japanese Red and Green versions of the Pokémon the initial Lavender Town theme score contained secret binaural notes only perceptible to children under the age of twelve. These binaural beats were allegedly included to subconsciously add a heightened level of terror in the children playing, giving old Lavender Town that extra spooky kick.

Unfortunately, these supposed binaural notes worked a little too well. Any child who played the game and heard these secret notes were driven mad and compelled to commit suicide by exceptionally vile and gruesome methods. Dismemberment and self-immolation are the most common methods of suicide associated with this urban legend. Those who were purported to have died were claimed to have suffered from “Lavender Town Syndrome.”

The notes were removed from later edits of the game and the original scores never made it over in the Western versions of Pokémon Red and Green, which in the West was Red, and, Green became Blue. The west never received a version of the Japanese Pokémon Blue.

Of course. Game Freak and Nintendo would never have actually put suicide-inducing binaural notes in to their video game scores. There's no denying the music of Lavender Town is freaky, but this ultimately is just a very sick, albeit intriguing urban legend.

It's almost impossible to find the origins of this urban legend. However, it's fair to say that the Easter Egg of you having possibly killed your rival's Raticate and landing them in the Lavender Town Pokémon Tower and the fact that the Lavender Town theme was played as the background to the viral “Hypno's Lullaby” video on YouTube in the noughties are most likely contributing factors.

If you feel like never sleeping again, there are videos on the internet of the “original” binaural note filled version of the Lavender Town theme, as well as a version of the score played BACKWARDS.

Sweet screams, I mean dreams! And one more thing... that white hand on your shoulder... it's not real...

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Yen Press Manga Review: Ibitsu (Twisted)

Konnichiwa! Howdy! Dia Duit! If a gruesomely drawn extremity horror with sick fan service based on a Creepypasta style urban legend with a deranged Gothic Lolita as the lead is your cup of tea then...

Welcome! Welcome! Sit down, grab a seat and let Straight Outta Kanto pour you a steaming mug of undiluted nightmare fuel.

“Ibitsu” by Haruto Ryo is a 2010 horror manga by Square Enix and Yen Press. “Ibitsu” is the Japanese word for “Twisted” - as in twisted and perverse. The complete thirteen chaptered volume by Yen Press also features two bonus “Twisted” side stories “Hall of Dolls” and “The Curious case of The Editor.”

Ibitsu lead protagonist, Kazuki Ito, is an ordinary young Japanese man who makes the fatal mistake of answering an odd, if seemingly innocuous, question from a stranger at the garbage dump one night:

“Would you... have a little sister?”

Considering the fact that the question is asked by a strange, scruffy young girl lying amongst the discarded neighbourhood garbage bags... dressed in a Gothic Lolita outfit... at night... You'd honestly think Kazuki would have the wherewithal to see (and avoid) serious trouble when he sees it!? Bless his cotton socks.

Little does Kazuki know that the girl before him demanding his family history is in fact the Demon Lolita from the local urban legends. Legend has it, if you are approached by the Demon Lolita she will ask “Would you... have a little sister?” If you answer “No!” she will kill you there and then in a “twisted” way. If you answer “Yes!” Well...

Let's just say Kazuki finds out the bloody, brutal way that accidentally becoming an urban legend's onii-chan (Big Brother) isn't all it's... cracked... up to be. Demon Lolita is determined to not only be the ONLY sister in Kazuki's life (which poses a grave and gory inconvenience for his ACTUAL sibling), Demon Lolita is determined to be the ONLY person in his life full stop!

Cue envelope pushing (and often times erring on the psycho sexual side) violence, cliff hanger after cliff hanger, fantastically drawn cinematic style horror scenes and brilliant use of tropes from what seems like every urban legend out there.

If you're in any way squeamish or only a casual fan of light horror, this is definitely not the manga for you. I would also advise a trigger warning for anyone prone to distress from scenes of self-harm, abuse or sexual violence.

However, if you've a“twisted” taste sense of humour and a strong stomach then I cannot recommend Haruto Ryo's Ibitsu enough. Fun fact, I loved this manga so much I even got a tattoo of the Demon Lolita on my right arm shortly after reading and still don't regret it!

There's something perversely enjoyable about allowing yourself to be drawn in as a spectator of Kazuki's unravelling descent in to madness, the spiralling plot twists of Demon Lolita's origins and the dizzying realisation that Haruto Ryo is NOT afraid to “go there.”

But tell me quickly, before you go... Would you... have... a little sister?

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Horror Anime Review: Elfin Lied

Konnichiwa! Salut! Guten Tag! Fancy a retro anime review about a kawaii magical girl with an absence of clothes but an excess of psychic killing powers!? Of course y'do! Can you guess what show Straight Outta Kanto is talking about? Of course y'can! 'Tis none other than Lynn Okamoto's controversial horror “Elfin Lied.”

Originally a long running manga serialised in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump from 2002 – 2005, Elfin Lied was given the anime adaptation treatment in 2004. Not dissimilar to the Game of Thrones situation (but thankfully much less disappointing), the 13 episode long anime of Elfin Lied was made while the manga was still being written. Anime director Mamoru Kanbe had to get creative on how to satisfactorily wrap up the series, so the endings of both the show and manga do differ.

Elfin Lied centres on a world where unaware humans are not alone as a species. An underground mutant race known as the “Diclonius” are very much among us. Sadly for us humans, Diclonius are mankind's enemy; born with horns on their heads and equipped with super-strong psychic “vectors” that are dismember-ing-er-ific weapons of human annihilation. A secret organisation has been discreetly murdering new-born babies presenting as Diclonius and also conducting horrific experiments on any poor, dear murderous mutants captured alive.

Part of the controversy of Elfin Lied is the fact that the sadistic and vicious Diclonius presented in show are all doe-eyed, daddy issue filled, very young females. “Kawaii” indeed. By today's standards, it does feel unacceptable to watch a show that overly-sexualizes mentally incapacitated infantile female characters. (For example, could Chobits realistically be made today?) However, it was a different era back in 2004 and must be judged accordingly.

Not only that, the show is absolutely rife with gut-wrenching story lines and plot twists featuring some of the most wretched and socially pathetic characters you will ever weep for. The brutality, hardship and bloodshed each human and Diclonius goes through in this harrowing yet beautiful anime are all designed to provoke the viewer in to wondering who is really the threat to mankind here? Mutants, or man itself?

The sexual abuse, extreme gore and psychological trauma means Elfin Lied is not exactly the ideal choice for a casual watch. However, the gorgeous old school gouache background animation, heart wrenching musical motif and brief glimpses of camaraderie and kinship that the characters strive to maintain throughout some truly vicious odds make this a worthy watch.  

I can guarantee you though, “Lucy” is one “Elf” (in Lied) you won't want on your shelf this festive season.

Tell Straight Outta Kanto what you think on:

Twitter: @KantoOutta and @VenusDeVilo

Instagram: @straightoutta_kanto and @venus_de_vilo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StraightOuttaKanto91/ and https://www.facebook.com/VenusDeViloTheVoiceOfHorror/

Join the Pokemon Fan Club Ireland Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1623889321229114/

Listen to the Straight Outta Kanto Podcast Radio Show https://open.spotify.com/show/0FRul8v6Xpy8JFD8clhlok?si=-f1uecxqT5erPBqigRIALg and the music of Venus de Vilo https://open.spotify.com/artist/7hSAeNpNk7ydf8lgE93sHn on Spotify.

Diamond Pearl Remake & Pokemon Snap News

Alola, fellow Pokemon nerds! Happy new year to you all, and, happy (soon to be!) 25th anniversary of the Pokemon franchise! Yes, February 27th 2021 will mark twenty five whole years since Pocket Monsters was Quick Attacked on an unsuspecting Earth... Well. That escalated quickly! 

No doubt all eyes will be on the annual Pokemon Direct announcement that usually coincides with International Pokemon Day. (February 27th) Eyes will open extra wide this year as once again, "Gen 4" remake rumours are more rampant than an Eevee and a Ditto in DayCare. However, as this year is the the 15th anniversary of Pokemon Diamond & Pearl's release (Yikes, I feel old!) and there have been a series of leaks from allegedly reliable leak sources - things are looking more promising than usual. 

Plus, a 25th anniversary during a period where it's still too early to announce a new region/generation means if Game Freak want to make a Splash to celebrate them turning a quarter of a century old... they'll have to pull something BIG out of the bag. (And not just a bicycle...)

Something that we are definitely are getting on Nintendo Switch this year is Pokemon Snap, release date April 30th. 

Pokemon Snap, while most clearly a fan favourite is an odd choice to me for a remake. In past generations there's always been a photographic element included in main games - from Cameron the Photographer (Just when you least expect it...) in Johto all the way to the Rotom Camera in Alola... has this feature been played out? Are Game Freak just floundering for a choice of game to knock out for spring because that's what they normally do? Why Pokemon Snap, why now? Why on the Switch?

I never played Pokemon Snap as a youngster so I am extremely curious as to whether or not this is a game worthy of its legendary love and adoration. Or, will this reboot fall flat on its face as a victim of nostalgia that just can't quite be replicated?

That being said, I can't wait to finally experience this game first hand and I have high hopes of its aesthetic achievements. The Switch is a gorgeous little machine, I'm sure Snap will be executed with style - let's just hope there's some substance to go with it to...

Tell Straight Outta Kanto what you think on:

Twitter: @KantoOutta and @VenusDeVilo

Instagram: @straightoutta_kanto and @venus_de_vilo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StraightOuttaKanto91/ and https://www.facebook.com/VenusDeViloTheVoiceOfHorror/

Join the Pokemon Fan Club Ireland Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1623889321229114/

Listen to the Straight Outta Kanto Podcast Radio Show https://open.spotify.com/show/0FRul8v6Xpy8JFD8clhlok?si=-f1uecxqT5erPBqigRIALg and the music of Venus de Vilo https://open.spotify.com/artist/7hSAeNpNk7ydf8lgE93sHn on Spotify.