The Anime snob: Kaiba

So there I was, living out my humdrum existence. Sifting through the sea of generic 

shonen tournament fair and bland moe harem fair. When it came into my life. A transhumanist sci-fi series with an interesting premise and quirky art style. The honeymoon period was grand. It seduced me with it's offbeat art style, great music and terrific setting. However as time when on something changed. The show changed. Gone was the show I knew and loved, instead replaced with something that looked similar but lacked the charm that made it so special. It was like I didn't know the show anymore. We grew more and more distant from that point on. 

Eventually, we parted on a slightly sour note, leaving me nostalgic for the better times.
I will never forget that show. And that show's name is Kaiba. (No relation to the Yu-gi-oh character of the same name.)

Sorry Kaiba boy.

Kaiba (Which incidentally is the Japanese word for Hippocampus, the part of the brain heavily involved in memory) is a 12 episode science fiction anime from director Masaaki Yuasa, whom you may know from the short “Happy machine” from Genius party. The protagonist is a young man called “Warp”, who starts the show on a strange planet with no memories, the only hints are a strange triangle mark on his body and a pendant with a picture of a woman. In his quest to find out his identity and that of the strange girl, he is taken on a body swapping journey throughout the galaxy.

The world of Kaiba is, in contrast with the somewhat “cartoonish” art style, a rather grim one. As the opening exposition explains, the ability to copy, store and alter memories is now possible. Memories are stored in a chip, which can be transferred from body to body, making the person effectively immortal. Bad memories can be removed and be replaced by good ones. However, this is something only the very wealthy can do. The gap between the rich and poor is very stark; the lowest of the low are forced to literally sell their bodies and memories in order to provide for their families, whilst the rich live in a utopia where they can alter their bodies and memories on a whim.

Oops.

The first 7 episodes of the series are a series of self contained episodes exploring different planets and the inhabitants thereof. The series is very reminiscent of Kino's journey at this point. Through this you get a good look at the setting, and the setting is the best thing about this series. It is a great piece of sci-fi, taking one technology and seeing how it changes society, touching on areas like: consumerism, class, identity, transhumanism. The show is at it's best when it focuses on the core technology and how it affects the world and the people therein.

However from episode 8 onwards, the series sticks to one planet and switches to a plot about a conspiracy to overthrow the “King of memories”, the elusive monarch who is also responsible for inventing the memory technology. The focus now is on characterisation rather than setting, which in this case is to the series' detriment.

The last couple of episodes feel rushed, it introduces too many new characters who don't get enough time to flesh out there motivations. It has the feeling of a series that was meant to be longer but then they found out that they only had 12 episodes to work with.

The series spent so much time world building that the main characters are fairly bland as a result. Even though they get multiple episodes of characterisation, they are no where near as interesting as some of the characters you meet in the first half. And you only spend one episode with most of them. This lack of focus is really the main problem I have with the series. I mean the premise lends itself to some pretty weighty topics, and the series is at it's best when the focus is on exploring that, rather than just using it as another magguffin to advance a plot.

On a more positive note, one of the most unique bits about the series is it's art. Anyone familiar with Masaaki Yuasa will know that his work has a very distinctive look to it. It's like a combination of Osamu Tenzuka and the underground American comic artist Robert crumb, it has that slightly disney-esque tinge to the main characters with a rough edge to it.

Of particular note are the opening and ending sequences, which are some of the best I've ever seen. They are a perfect mix of sight and sound which produces something ethereal and beautiful. Uplifting and bittersweet.
The soundtrack is almost exclusively electronica, from fast paced dance music to more melancholic vocal tracks. The songs always do a good job of reinforcing the mood of the scene and it also pretty good on it's own merits.

In the end, Kaiba is one of my favourite series, despite the fact that I only really like 7/13 parts of it. The series had really great potential, and while it has some really great highs the second half makes it hard for me to whole heartedly recommend it. 

If I had the ability to remove my memories of the second half, leaving only the good memories, would I?
No, as I can appreciate it for what it tried to be. A show that aimed high and failed is still better than a show that just went for “good enough”.
In the end, all we really have is our memories.
Sexy sexy memories.

Unnng, Stupid sexy Kaiba!

Something I've Read: CLAMP Month Introduction

When I was a kid, there were three cartoons that really got me drawn in and made me not want to miss any episodes. The first was Pokemon, the behemoth of advertising for the games, the king of the status quo. The second was Digimon, in particular Digimon Adventure, the first series.

The final one was Cardcaptors, the dub of a show called Cardcaptor Sakura in Japan, about a young girl who finds, and accidentally releases into the world, a set of magical cards known as Clow cards. I really loved the characters, and the creative uses of the cards, and the mix of action, friendship, intrigue and everyday life that made up it. But, like all good things, it came to an end. I later managed to pick up some videos of it, though those became useless when the VHS player for my TV died, so it wasn't until my family got broadband internet that I actually tried searching for it again. Did it hold up?