Spike, Cowboy Bebop If you were like me two months ago, your knowledge of anime was limited to Hayao Miyazaki films and your knowledge of manga was limited to Scott Pilgrim. Fast forward two months and skip the parts where I metaphorically drop acid and crush pills between pages and pages of comic drawings. Somewhere inside that mess, I discovered my gateway drugs to anime and manga.
Today, my knowledge of these wonderful Japanese art forms is somewhere between Crunchyroll and Mangahere. Getting to this point was part nostalgia and part luck, but that’s how you discover new things and when new things find me they tend to fade away very quickly or stick to me like a leech. I can become very easily addicted to something if I’m not careful, but becoming addicted to this hasn’t caused me to lose any sleep (yet). It has caused me to hunt for more anime/manga and learn about all the wonderful stories and artwork that I’ve been in the dark about for far too long. Soon, I’ll set research aside and actually watch and read these things.
My 60 Billion Double Dollar Addiction
Vash the Stampede
So what was it that I watched or read that actually got me completely addicted? Trigun. Watching it on Netflix was like taking a huge hit of nostalgia. I remembered my highschool friends who found this show fascinating when it aired on Adult Swim. Some went as far as buying Vash the Stampede’s zigzag-framed, yellow-lensed glasses. At the time, all-you-can-eat online media didn’t exist, and I never took the time to watch Trigun when it was on TV. The truth of the matter was it really didn’t appeal to me. Somewhere deep down inside I still thought anime was bizarre and I loathed all the cartoons that tried to emulate the same look and feel of traditional Japanese anime. None of those shows could compare. They were way too Americanized and didn’t retain the same effort that went into drawing characters or backgrounds for Japanese anime. The images were untextured and flat. The animation was unnaturally choppy.
Fast forward to now and I am a spaghetti western fan who loves animation and with an ear for identifying voice-over artists. Trigun did me one better. It blended a western with my other favorite genre, sci-fi and told a story that that didn’t completely suck! Talk about inhaling multiple genres that you appreciate all in the same sitting...
Fast forward to now and I am a spaghetti western fan who loves animation and with an ear for identifying voice-over artists. Trigun did me one better. It blended a western with my other favorite genre, sci-fi and told a story that that didn’t completely suck! Talk about inhaling multiple genres that you appreciate all in the same sitting...
Trigun Maximum begins after the fifth moon incident.
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Multiple Bullets collects Trigun stories from multiple authors.
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Then I discovered a way that I could absorb more Vash the Stampede and his path of destruction. Trigun was not only a TV series but was published as a manga in multiple volumes. However, I made the mistake of not doing research and purchased Trigun Maximum Omnibus. I assumed that this was a continuation of the story beyond that of the TV series. It turned out to be Yasuhiro Nightow’s continuation of the first third of the story told in manga form. Long story short, I bought something that I had already watched unfold in the TV series. I was searching for something completely new and I eventually found the recently released Trigun: Multiple Bullets which is a collection of Trigun stories told by some of the top manga authors on the planet.
Trigun bridged the gap between anime and manga. I now have a list of manga that I will be reading and it’s quite long. But Trigun did not do the same for anime TV shows that it had done for manga. However, during a search for something fresh and bold like Trigun, I discovered one of the wackiest and sexiest animes: Girls Bravo.
Trigun bridged the gap between anime and manga. I now have a list of manga that I will be reading and it’s quite long. But Trigun did not do the same for anime TV shows that it had done for manga. However, during a search for something fresh and bold like Trigun, I discovered one of the wackiest and sexiest animes: Girls Bravo.
I know. I thought the same thing.
I was sold on Girls Bravo after watching some “deep space planet future gun action” as it’s playfully phrased. It was reminiscent of FLCL (toned down) and mixed with sci-fi. The first few episodes were serious in tone and took the characters from Earth to Seiren via a mystical bathtub. The main character, Yukinari Sasaki, bubbles with a rash when women touch him. Only this space chick, Miharu Sena Kanaka, is able to touch him without consequence.
This show has nudity in every opening sequence along with a story line that you’d think only kids would watch. Some characters are over exaggerated and annoying and the soundtrack can be strangely mystical at times. Therefore it intrigues me. The first season is better than the second (so far). Season two lost its sci-fi element almost immediately and it turned into an entirely different show. But the important thing is that it opened my mind to other seemingly strange anime TV shows. I became accustomed to Girls Bravo and its mixture of campiness and willingness to tell a love story. In fact, I didn’t know to whom or what the show was trying to appeal. Girls Bravo reminds me of Bollywood films, which try to appeal to a mass audience utilizing multiple languages, cultures, and blends different film genres together. As I've learned, Anime does this quite frequently but not in the same way.
This show has nudity in every opening sequence along with a story line that you’d think only kids would watch. Some characters are over exaggerated and annoying and the soundtrack can be strangely mystical at times. Therefore it intrigues me. The first season is better than the second (so far). Season two lost its sci-fi element almost immediately and it turned into an entirely different show. But the important thing is that it opened my mind to other seemingly strange anime TV shows. I became accustomed to Girls Bravo and its mixture of campiness and willingness to tell a love story. In fact, I didn’t know to whom or what the show was trying to appeal. Girls Bravo reminds me of Bollywood films, which try to appeal to a mass audience utilizing multiple languages, cultures, and blends different film genres together. As I've learned, Anime does this quite frequently but not in the same way.
Distance Over Time Equals Anime
Click to watch 5 Centimeters per Second on YouTube.
My love for Hayao Miyazaki's films overshadowed my ability to accept that there’s somebody that could come close to topping his body of work...until I watched 5 Centimeters per Second. I first discovered this gem in the manga section of Books-A-Million. It was released as a one-shot manga that followed the anime very closely. It just so happened to be a title that I wrote down, googled, and randomly found a link to the entire film on YouTube. Every frame was pure eye candy which is something I can appreciate.
5 Centimeters per Second, written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, is a carefully directed masterpiece which tells the melancholy story of Takaki Tono as he progresses through, “....cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility [that] converge to test the delicate petals of love.” The voice over may not work for everyone, but it’s the way he chose to tell this story. Remove it and you might end up with a much darker film with unclear character motivations. Overall, if you are looking to break into anime films, you might want to start with Shinkai’s 5 Centimeters per Second, as it is grounded in nostalgic realism and can evoke childhood emotions in a haunting way. If you were to jump into Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, you might lose your mind trying to suspend your disbelief, however I highly recommend it.
5 Centimeters per Second, written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, is a carefully directed masterpiece which tells the melancholy story of Takaki Tono as he progresses through, “....cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility [that] converge to test the delicate petals of love.” The voice over may not work for everyone, but it’s the way he chose to tell this story. Remove it and you might end up with a much darker film with unclear character motivations. Overall, if you are looking to break into anime films, you might want to start with Shinkai’s 5 Centimeters per Second, as it is grounded in nostalgic realism and can evoke childhood emotions in a haunting way. If you were to jump into Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, you might lose your mind trying to suspend your disbelief, however I highly recommend it.
Smoking Can't Be This Cool
The Bebop crew.
For years I've heard the title Cowboy Bebop and never bothered to research it. It was recommended to me by a fellow anime/manga lover and I've been reading it ever since. It was the first manga that I read based on trying to find something similar to Trigun. My options were Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, and Desert Punk. Spike and the gang were most appealing to me and I even watched the first few episodes of the anime TV series which is excellently put together. Watch the first episode and you'll notice the amount of thought and care that went into producing the show. The intro is classy and the pacing is excellent.
The manga is also an easy yet satisfying read. Some mangas are difficult to follow because of amount of action within the artwork but Cain Kuga, Cowboy Bebop's illustrator, did a great job keeping things simple. This is where I was first introduced to cigarette smoking Spike. He's a pretty cool character without being too cool and without overshadowing the other characters. Steve Blum gives a great performance voicing his character with suave smoky vocals.
The manga is also an easy yet satisfying read. Some mangas are difficult to follow because of amount of action within the artwork but Cain Kuga, Cowboy Bebop's illustrator, did a great job keeping things simple. This is where I was first introduced to cigarette smoking Spike. He's a pretty cool character without being too cool and without overshadowing the other characters. Steve Blum gives a great performance voicing his character with suave smoky vocals.
Nicolas Cage gives another fine performance on the back cover.
Another chain smoking hero, quite a bit darker than Spike, I discovered by accident. It fell into my hands while removing other mangas from the bookshelf in Books-A-Million. The Innocent written by Avi Arad, is a ghostly noir starring Johnny Wright. This isn't a spoiler (it's the premise to the story) but skip the next sentence if you are as anal as I am about knowing plotlines. Johnny is falsely accused of a crime he did not commit and must help set things right after being executed. His character has rules and limitations as the story unfolds and it ever so slightly tiptoes on elements of noir. It's almost worth noting that it was read and blurbed by Stan Lee, Sam Raimi, Nicolas Cage, all of which are graphic novel lovers (I wasn't sure if you knew that about Stan Lee).
Giant Guns Go Bang, Bang, Blood!
Giant boss battles are literally split in two halfs in BBB.
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Brandon can wield a giant motorcycle gun and take the occasional bullet.
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I can't help but mention one last time, my strongest addiction and favorite author/artist, Yashiro Nightow. He takes the cake when it comes to appealing to an American audience by exploring the western genre, by telling a story in a future New York City, and (maybe without realizing) by sparking the vampire/zombie fad (watch/read Highschool of the Dead for real zombies). His followup to Trigun is Blood Blockade Battlefront (Kekkai Sensen) which might speak to Star Wars fans and takes place in Manhattan. The city is encapsulated in a bubble filled with different alien races and heroes that try to keep the peace. It's still in publication and the fourth volume is due this September.
Another of his original concepts, Gungrave, was originally developed as a PS2 game and was adapted to TV as a series. I've just begun to read the anime manga, and I've only watched the first episode to lag behind my position within the manga. It seems promising and is very different from his other works sans giant guns and tortured pasts. Okay, so maybe it's not that different.
Another of his original concepts, Gungrave, was originally developed as a PS2 game and was adapted to TV as a series. I've just begun to read the anime manga, and I've only watched the first episode to lag behind my position within the manga. It seems promising and is very different from his other works sans giant guns and tortured pasts. Okay, so maybe it's not that different.
The Ever-Swelling Ocean
Like Miyazaki, Nightow seems to be the author/artist to top (for me). But along came Boichi as I was searching for more truffles similar to Trigun. He actually authored/illustrated an original Trigun short-story which eventually became part of Trigun: Multiple Bullets. I had no idea who he was until I discovered his wonderfully crafted one-shot, Hotel. "It is the year 2272 A.D. A computer continues to live on in order to complete a mission in a world where all life, including Mankind, has gone extinct. This is a record of those 27 million years of its heroic struggle." If you cried during Toy Story 3 you might want to read this one with a box of tissues. Next in my sights is Boichi's H.E: The Hunt for Energy where the main character has the ability to see energy in the form of tiny people.
It's exciting to find new authors and new inventive stories but at the same time, I have a feeling that nothing will ever live up to Trigun. It was my first gateway drug that still hasn't left my system. I've gone as far as listening to the soundtrack and searching for figurines...who in the hell am I?!
I've now read and watched only a miniscule amount of anime/manga compared to the laundry list in existence. But to me these are the most important. They have been and always will be my gateway drugs that got me hooked. Anime/manga can require a lot of patience at times but if you give them a chance, they'll surprise you in ways you never thought possible.
I've now read and watched only a miniscule amount of anime/manga compared to the laundry list in existence. But to me these are the most important. They have been and always will be my gateway drugs that got me hooked. Anime/manga can require a lot of patience at times but if you give them a chance, they'll surprise you in ways you never thought possible.
