The Half Time Whistle Blows On The Revolution

We're twelve weeks into the big experiment, and with everyone apparently pausing for breath, it's a chance to take stock of what has transpired thus far. As I related in my first blog, Gonzo Digimation is trying a new method of anime distribution, the simultaneous online release. At the same time, or soon after its shows air in Japan, English subtitled versions are unleashed onto the Interweb, courtesy of a few select outlets such as BOST TV, Crunchyroll and the ubiquitous Youtube. It's actually a long needed development, as anime lacks the usual path to DVD success. With movies there is the theatrical run and then the DVD, with television there are the broadcasts first. There is little if any such priming for anime, and the shows usually have to rely on word of mouth, or illegal fansubs to generate excitement. With the legitimate release of these shows onto download and streaming sites, perhaps they will get the same sort of build up and hype that broadcast television gets.

This week has seen the end of one of Gonzo's shows, and the other taking a brief hiatus. By far my favourite of the two has been The Tower Of Druaga - The Aegis Of Uruk, a wonderful RPG show based on the original console game, which saw a band of adventurers scaling a mighty tower to defeat a powerful god-like being, to restore peace to the realm, and have a wish granted as well. It's a wonderful blend of whimsy and drama, with likeable and interesting characters and a somewhat left-field sense of humour. Alas it was only twelve episodes in length, and the ending was as much infuriating as enjoyable. Fortunately a second series, the Sword of Uruk is planned for 2009.

Lower in my estimation is Blassreiter, which takes a week's vacation while the Japanese audiences suffer through one of those recap episodes. This is more typical of Gonzo's action sci-fi anime series, and has taken a devil's age to actually get going with a semblance of a story. It's one of those future cyberpunk worlds that seems doomed to death by evolution. A plague is sweeping the world, where ordinary people become Amalgams, powerful creatures that meld with machinery and wreak havoc on the world. There is a dark conspiracy behind it all, and mysterious figures orchestrating events. Like most of Gonzo's recent series of a similar vein, it's heavy on the eye-candy and CG goodness, and woefully bereft of decent characterisation or a coherent plot. Last week saw the outbreak of the plague leading to biomechanical zombies breaking loose…

One of Gonzo's online shows that is easy to miss is Hennako-Chan. It's a set of six three-minute short animations featuring the adventures of a perverse psychic girl. It heads into bizarre territory (which is usually unsafe for work), and looking like nothing less than an animated comic strip, I've found it to be a rare but welcome delight if your humour tends to the dark.

Gonzo's experiment has had its teething problems with the various sites, inconstant release formats, and questions about advertising on the shows, but they are all available to watch.

At the same time, ADV, who have much more experience with online releases, have for the past five weeks been releasing Welcome To The NHK on Crunchyroll. At two episodes a week, it's certainly a more satisfying release format, and while the show has been released on DVD in the US, it is still yet to make its debut in the UK, which makes the online dub release a perfect way to try before you buy. Welcome to the NHK takes a look at the NEET phenomenon. NEET stands for Not currently in Education, Employment, or Training, a typically bureaucratic designation for what is essentially a social dropout. Sato is an extreme version of this, socially inept, introverted and depressed, who spends his time in his flat, indulging in porn, and having an increasing sense of paranoia that the whole world is conspiring against him. Then one day he meets a girl named Misaki, who claims to be able to cure him of his anti-social outcast status through psychoanalysis and one-on-one lectures. And she makes him sign a contract to continue until he is cured. And so begins a tragicomic tale of the dregs of society, those who can't fit in. It's another example of anime being able to tackle any subject, and of all the shows that I have seen online, the one that I am most enthused about. Welcome to the NHK makes its UK DVD debut in August.

Details on how to watch all these shows legally online can be found in my earlier blog and attachment.

And the experiment doesn't end there. With the end of Druaga, Gonzo have a gap to fill in their online schedules, and they have just announced another 12 episode series to take Druaga's place. Beginning on July 3rd will be Strike Witches.

"The story takes place on an alternate world similar to our own in the 20th Century, except for the existence of magical powers. These powers, which manifest themselves in girls but disappear as the girls grow older, allow these so-called "witches" to fly in the skies. When an enigmatic enemy attacks, the last hope of humanity lies in these witches who have been equipped with Striker Unit flying gear — hence, the name Strike Witches."

The news story can be found on Anime News Network

More details on how to watch the new show closer to the broadcast time.