Moon Phase: Phase 6 (UK)

Introduction

Long ago, in the mists of time, there was a series that debuted in the UK called Moon Phase. It was an appealing story about a vampire and her erstwhile slave, a hefty dose of cuteness in a usually uncute genre. My great-great grandfather started reviewing it with volume 1, and gradually as the series grew, the task of reviewing it passed down through the generations until the responsibility of reviewing the final volume came to me. At last we can find out how the story ends. Ok, maybe Revelation's quarterly release schedule hasn't been quite that laboured, but I doubt the reason that I can't remember the faintest thing about what has happened so far in the series has anything to do with my impending senility. Anyway, let us pause so I can take a look at my previous reviews for a quick recap…

… I'm back, and I'm caught up, more or less. And I now remember that Moon Phase was a series that initially impressed me with its blend of madcap slapstick, saccharine cuteness and mild gothic horror, but as the series progressed, the cyclic nature of the story became apparent, and flawed pacing upset the earlier deft balance. Still, as with the finales of most anime, all bets are off, and the producers could conceivably dish up the proverbial pig's ear, or a silk purse. Volume 6 is where I find out if the previous 5 were worth my while.

Kouhei Morioka is a psychic photographer who works for a paranormal magazine. He comes from a family of exorcists, but is unique in that he has an immunity to psychic phenomenon. His life changes when he goes on assignment to a mysterious castle in Germany, and winds up releasing from her imprisonment, a teenage vampire named Hazuki with a penchant for wearing kitten ears.

Moon Phase concludes with the four episodes that are presented on this sixth volume from Revelation. Previously, following the devastating fire at the Mido antiques shop, Kouhei and Hazuki escaped to the family shrine so that Kouhei could work on releasing his inner spiritual potential, so that he could better protect Hazuki. At the same time, another group of vampires arrived, Jeda, Vargas and Hazuki's own sister Artemis, once again to return Lady Luna to her master. To put the pressure on, they kidnapped Hikaru, and Kouhei tried to unseal his inner power, the Jyougan, an ability that lets him see evil for what it truly is. Before he was ready, he took a look at Hazuki…



23. Big Brother, Am I That Scary?
Seeing Hazuki for what she truly is, Kouhei is paralysed with fear. It's the worst time that this could happen, as Jeda is going it alone and taking matters into his own hands. He's coming for Hazuki and the forest is no impediment to him as he heads for the Mido shrine. In fact, he's possessed the very trees, as well as one of the Mido family to help him gain access to Hazuki. When everyone rushes to protect Hazuki, there is a standoff in the forest, one that quickly turns to Jeda's advantage. Unless Kouhei can overcome his fears, all will be lost.

24. Good-Bye Big Brother… I'm Going Back? I'm Really Going Back?
Hazuki has no choice. If she is to protect the Mido family, she will have to surrender and go back to her life as Lady Luna. As soon as she makes the decision, Schwarz Quelle castle appears in the forest. No longer needing the leverage, Hikaru is freed, and Hazuki enters the castle. As the ritual to awaken Lady Luna begins, the castle begins to fade. Hikaru and the others resolve to rescue Hazuki, but time is running out for Kouhei to come to his senses.

25. Big Brother, They Say It's The End! Will You Always Be My Slave?
Everything is getting back to normal, the antiques shop has been rebuilt and Kouhei and Hazuki are rowing even more than usual. To celebrate, they're going to have a big get together, but Seiji's late as he's bringing a special guest. Hazuki wants to get to know her little sister better, and Seiji has been looking for her to see if she can be redeemed. It's a full moon night, and with so many vampires in the house, Kouhei begins to feel like a buffet, but he has something important to tell Hazuki.

26. Up and Down, In the Sun, Floating Away… What Is It?
It's a beautiful sunny day, perfect for sunbathing (for those vampires that can tolerate the sun that is), there is a cool breeze, the seagulls are soaring overhead, and the house if slowly floating out to sea?!?

Picture

Moon Phase gets a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer consistent with most modern anime series, and given that it is barely three years old, there is little to complain about with the original source material. The transfer itself is adequate, there are little of the NTSC-PAL symptoms immediately apparent, and the image is clear and sharp most of the time. There are odd moments of indistinctness when the scene gets particularly dark and misty, but nothing too noteworthy. The credit sequences still suffer from aliasing though. Fortunately there are textless credits in the extras so you can see them unsullied.

Moon Phase has a toned down palette suitable for its more gothic subject matter, although the cute character designs are at odds with this. The animation varies from average to impressive, with some dynamic animation offering a different perspective on the characters, and also following through to the action sequences. While the average comedy scene will have the straightforward animation that you would expect from the genre, there is a lot of moody animation that goes with the spooky feel. There is a greater tendency to experiment with the animation style, and it certainly holds the attention.

Sound

You get a choice of DD 5.1 and 2.0 English, DD 2.0 Japanese, all supplemented by a translated English subtitle track, or a signs only track. You know you are entering cute territory as soon as you hear the infuriatingly catchy theme tune, "Neko Mimi Mode". In my opinion, as practically always, the original Japanese track is the way to go, and the stereo track offered here has no problems. The dialogue is clear, and the action gets a decent amount of separation. The 5.1 track does offer more in terms of ambience and directionality, but it is still predominately a front-focussed affair. The English dub is accomplished and easy to listen to, although some Japanese phrases like 'bento' or 'neko mimi' aren't translated, requiring a little familiarity with Japanese culture (or you can just work it out from the context).

Extras

There are just your basic anime extras on this disc. You get the jaggie free textless credit sequences, as well as trailers for Tsubasa and Mushi-shi. The sleeve has the usual blurb on the outside, but the inside has a full-length image of Hazuki.

Conclusion

Well, that was… different. Moon Phase gets an ending worthy of the story so far, and it rounds off the character arcs, provides a denouement that is emotionally satisfying, and has a suitable amount of action and excitement to it. Except that it turns out that Moon Phase is a 24-episode story, and at the end of it all the creators have two more episodes to play with. Less imaginative writers would have used two episodes of filler somewhere in the middle of the series just to pad things out a little, but what we get here are essentially two bonus episodes, and it's here that things get weird.



As for the main story itself, Moon Phase suffers from the perennial problem of having to finish a series before the manga that inspired it ends. It means contriving a suitably rip-roaring climax, without pre-empting the eventual written conclusion. The ending here pushes all the right buttons, it introduces a seemingly insurmountable barrier between the two protagonists and separates the two. Here it is Kouhei suddenly being able to see the vampire's true essence, and being repulsed by it. It's hardly conducive to a meaningful relationship between him and Hazuki. At which point the toughest bunch of vampires yet arrive to take Lady Luna back, and with the appearance of castle Schwarz Quelle, it proves to be the toughest challenge so far. A suitable battle against all the odds ensues, and obviously the climax will be the most visually impressive of the series. Throw in the twist of having Hazuki's sister as one of the vampires, and we get a subplot about redeeming Artemis and reconciling the two sisters. It's all quite gripping stuff.

The disappointment is that while Kouhei does wind up reaffirming his commitment to Hazuki, we're still at square one at the end of the disc. Just because these vampires' attempt to take back Lady Luna is thwarted, it's practically inevitable that others will make the attempt somewhere down the line, and the mysterious 'Master' that has been orchestrating the attempts on Hazuki never makes an appearance in these episodes, remaining no doubt safely in the pages of the manga.



By this point the main story is complete, but with two episodes left, it's a question of what to do next. The first is easy, which is to see the aftermath of the finale, the Mido family back to what passes for normality, and to tie up one or two loose ends. It's a chance for a party, which is just what the characters do, and it also appears as if they got the show's writers drunk too, as this episode is an opportunity for slapstick overload. It works too, following the relatively emotional climax; it provides something of a release.

It turns out that the alcohol worked so well, that they tried plying the writers with hallucinogenic drugs for the final episode, which sees the Mido home in the middle of the ocean for the duration, with absolutely no explanation supplied, or even needed. One of the show's conceits has been that the Mido home has always been shown in cutaway. The penultimate episode takes that even further, placing the whole thing on a revolving stage, with occasional peeks behind the scenes. The final episode goes beyond even that, with the characters swimming in cardboard waves, seagulls hanging from the rafters, and even a stylised sun hanging from the roof. It's utterly daft, and I half expect a voiceover to announce that 'Moon Phase was animated before a live studio audience.' All that was missing was the laugh track.



Moon Phase showed a lot of promise in its early volumes, but it never really quite delivered, opting for the cheap gag and easy character quirk instead of anything too deep and meaningful. A lot of the charm for me vanished with some blatant emotional manipulation with the fate of two of the characters. The shop was destroyed, and it looked as if the characters had died, but instead of dealing with that angst, we jumped 8 months ahead in the narrative, with Kouhei in the middle of his training atop a mountain, at which point said characters show up again in the least convincing disguises ever conceived. It's obvious who they are, and Kouhei and Hazuki are dense for not getting it straight away. What's worse is when they do eventually reunite, there's no mention of the deception or the need for it. It's brushed under the carpet. It's flaws like this that made my appreciation of the show dip, to the point where it was no longer the balanced interesting show that I first thought. Instead it's weighted more to the goofy side of things.

Of course there is nothing wrong with goofy, and sometimes seeing a metal pan randomly crashing on someone's head is just what the humour doctor ordered. If gothic silliness is your genre of choice, then Moon Phase will be ideal, and even while it didn't meet my initial expectations, there's no denying that it is certainly fun to watch.