Review of Otogi Zoshi: Vol. 6 Full Circle

Introduction

Waiting 15 months to round off a ten-hour series seems excessive, even for anime with its traditionally drawn out release schedules. And with Manga Entertainment`s handling of Otogi Zoshi, it`s been made an even more trying experience. But the wait is over, and while there won`t be the global phenomenon of the final Harry Potter, seeing volume 6 turn up for review is no less of a relief. You won`t be surprised to hear that the final disc is barebones and dubtitled. Importers, fire up your broadband connections!

Otogi Zoshi is a 26 episode series that has an interesting premise. It`s a story told over a thousand years with the first half set during the Heian period of Japanese history, while these final thirteen episodes are set in the modern day. Coming from the powerhouse behind Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex that is Studio I.G., this is a tantalising title. With the Heian arc concluded, we shift to modern day Tokyo, where all the main characters have been reincarnated. For the last year since the disappearance of her brother Raiko, Hikaru has been struggling to come to terms with his loss, and to make ends meet has opened her house to lodgers. Among her tenants are photojournalist Tsuna, fortune-teller Urabe, and playboy Sadamitsu, who lives with his adopted son Kintaro. Tokyo is being beset with strange supernatural occurrences, and they all seem to revolve around Hikaru, her missing brother and a strange figure in a dark coat who seems to know her. The final volume rounds things off with a bumper selection of 5 episodes.

22. Ookubo
With Hikaru having found out who the dark stranger is, hearing his name has sparked a deluge of memories from a past life, and she`s having a hard time coming to terms. She`s sure of one thing though, having learned with happened to the original band of friends, she has no intention of letting her present day friends get involved. It may be coming close to Christmas, but the supernatural occurrences keep on growing, and now earthquakes are threatening Tokyo. Mansairaku says he needs her help to seal off the final distortion.

23. Marunouchi
Hikaru`s friends aren`t about to let her run off on her own, and when Tsuna and Urabe figure out what`s going on, together with Sadamitsu and Kintaro they head off to the final gate to the city, Tokyo Station. They find Hikaru there searching for Mansairaku. The nexus to the distortion is located somewhere in the station, and they have until sunset to find it.

24. Manseibashi
The distortion may have been handled, but the problem just gets worse. Time has frozen, as Tokyo seems poised for destruction. Mansairaku tells Hikaru that the only way to repair the damage, and rescue her brother is to go back to where the fracture originally occurred, atop the Rashomon during the Heian era. But given what Hikaru has learned of Mansairaku, can she trust him.

25. Kimon TV Special: First half of Tokubeshi Hen
One year previously, Urabe was a down on her luck fortuneteller, looking for a new place to live. Mysterious occurrences in a hospital lead her into a chilling adventure, where the only ally she has is a strange cat.

26. Minato TV Special: Second half of Tokubeshi Hen
Mansairaku contemplates eternity as he wanders the city, and gets reflective about his life, the cities, and their inhabitants that he has sworn to protect. He encounters an old man in the park who is strangely familiar, and appears to recognise him. His insights into the nature of time provoke thought, but more curious is the riddle of who the old man actually is.

Video

Otogi Zoshi is presented in a 4:3 aspect ratio and the transfer is clear, sharp and colourful. However, just as in the extended first volume, the extra episode count here, despite the lack of extras does impact on the image quality. There is the moiré and shimmer over fine detail common to all the discs, but you`ll also see the occasional compression artefact, or brief burst of pixellation.

The animation, as you would expect from Production I.G is something quite special. For the modern era, all the characters have had a makeover, Hikaru has short hair and given the heat wave, has a preference for suitably brief clothing, Tsuna settles for jeans and a T-Shirt, while Sadamitsu looks like a pimp. There is once again a degree of stylisation, posterized photographs represent real life locations, but there is a greater degree of familiarity with the modern character and world designs. The animation seems to have gained a degree of fluidity over the Heian arc as well.

Audio

You can choose between DD 2.0, DD 5.1 and DTS soundtracks in both English and Japanese. I chose the Japanese 5.1 track and it`s a fairly decent surround track, with perhaps a slightly aggressive use of the rears. The English surround track is a tad more subdued by comparison, and as usual with recent anime releases, the dub is professional and easy to listen to. It`s all change for the themes with the Tokyo arc, and the opening is a catchy little tune that has the characters singing along to it in the opening sequence. The end theme of episode 13 now ends all the episodes. The incidental music has also changed from traditional to contemporary, although it still suits the story well.

Dubtitles bad, translated subtitles good. I`m tired of rehashing this, so if you want to see me rant again, click on practically any review of Manga`s releases for 2007. For reasons of their own, they have switched to subtitles that follow the English dub for all their dual language titles. Fortunately in Otogi Zoshi`s case, the English dub appears to be a pretty close translation of the Japanese, so you don`t end up losing major plot points in the text, the captions are fairly well timed whichever soundtrack you listen to, and the only complaint is that onscreen text goes by without translation. (This is a significant problem in episode 23, where onscreen text plays an important part in the story.)

Features

The extras got left behind in Region 1. I seriously thought we were past this nonsense by now. Contain your excitement when I tell you of the trailers you can peruse.

Conclusion

Otogi Zoshi has done its level best to make me dismiss it. It isn`t just the dismal treatment given to the second half of the run following Manga UK`s economy drive, although losing all the extra features and opting for dubtitles is no small disincentive. But the story is a simple and straightforward one, and the pace of the show is often dictated by the prettiness of the animation instead of the dictates of the plot. To overcome this, the characters are well written and rounded, and the idea of splitting the story across two eras is a strong attractant. It`s fair to say that Otogi Zoshi is an acquired taste, and one that I am glad to have picked up. If you invest in the show, and allow yourself to fall for its rather unique charms, then there is much to gain from the show.

Still, this final volume offers the same conflicted experience, leaving me wondering if I liked it or not. Strike one against the show is that it ends early. Just three episodes of these five are devoted to rounding off the story, and it does it in a very familiar way to those who have experienced more than a few hours of Star Trek. I have noted earlier on that this second half of the series is much more episodic compared to the long arc of the first thirteen episodes. But with this volume it becomes apparent that the adventures that Hikaru and her friends get into are a mirror of that first arc. Where initially it was the quest for the Magatama beads, now we see that the supernatural disturbances in Tokyo reflect what had happened earlier. It`s a neat tie to the first half that works very well. But the fact is that there aren`t any major twists to the story, and it boils down to Hikaru learning what she has to do, then going out and doing it. The only question is whether she should trust Mansairaku or not.

It wouldn`t have been so bad if the show had ended there, with an emotional climax worthy of the build up of the first 23 episodes. It`s just that the two bonus episodes, almost tagged on as an afterthought, prove to be very anticlimactic, and succeed in diluting the energy of the conclusion. They would have been better placed in the middle of the run, or presented on this disc as bonus features, rather than tagged on to the end of the main run of episodes. The first is a straightforward ghost story that shows how Urabe met the other friends. She has to investigate the mysterious happenings in a hospital, and on the way befriends a stray cat. The second episode takes us into philosophical territory, as Mansairaku examines his life and the part he has to play in protecting the city. We approach Ghost in the Shell levels of dialogue here, with discussions of time and space, existence and destiny. Neither episode stands well in the main run, and all they offer are some added insights into two of the characters. Placing the episodes after the climax of the series does tend to end things on a rather introspective note, and the next time I`ll be sure to watch them prior to the end of the story.

Otogi Zoshi ends well, and then over eggs the pudding with a couple of thin bonus episodes. The story is hardly convoluted, indeed it ends in as simple a way as you can expect. But where the show succeeds is two fold. The look is astounding, great animation, atmospheric world design, and a singular character design ethic that makes this show stand out above the crowd. It is a joy to behold. The second thing is the depth of characterisation. These are all characters that grow and develop over the run time, and they are easy to empathise with. I stuck with Otogi Zoshi because I wanted to know what would happen to them, more so than I was dispirited by the lack of humour and occasionally glacial pace. Otogi Zoshi isn`t for all tastes, but if you are looking for something unique in style, that offers something different from run of the mill characters and stories, it`s well worth looking at.

I suppose registering my annoyance at yet another barebones disc would be moot at this point. Still, the dubtitles are nowhere near as bad as they could have been, and if all that you are interested is in the story, then this disc, in English or Japanese will suffice. However, Otogi Zoshi`s extras are significantly more than the usual anime warrants, and if you want the full experience then you`ll have to import from the US. For those who like their anime in big beefy chunks, be aware that an Otogi Zoshi boxset is imminent. As for this final disc, while the raised episode count is usually a good thing, two of the five episodes here are thin compared to the main story. Hence the slightly lower score. Don`t let that dissuade you though.