Let’s get straight to the reviews this week, and begin with Simoun: Endless Melody Collection. I somehow found time to delve into my collection once more, and pulled out a title that I imported from the US at the end of last year. It’s the sort of show that just isn’t sold in the UK, we just don’t have a customer base large enough to support this particular fan niche. Lesbian relationships sold to predominantly male audiences suggest a sort of prurient titillation, of which there is none in Simoun. What there is, is a damned engrossing sci-fi tale, with an intricate world design, and a character based story-telling style that we just don’t see in the anime that we get in the UK. Click on the review to read more.
Back to the UK reviews, and next up was a show that a lot of people have been eagerly anticipating, Mawaru Penguindrum, or as it is being sold in the UK, Penguin Drum: Part 1. It’s the mind-bending return of Kunihiko Inuhara, the creator of The Adolescence of Utena, and you won’t be surprised to see fantastic imagery, complex characterisation, and tantalising narrative. When little sister Himari dies, brothers Kanba and Shoma are distraught, until she comes back to life through the power of a novelty penguin hat. It’s a temporary resurrection, and if the brothers are to make that permanent, they will need to find the enigmatic Penguindrum.
Finally I got to watch a movie that I have been meticulously avoiding for the last 20 years. Street Fighter II: The Movie has had its HD upgrade, and I got to review the Blu-ray. I wasn’t much of a fan of the game, and the live action movie was a disaster, so I never really felt compelled to watch the anime. It turns out that the anime really is a valentine to the fans of the game, and is as faithful an adaptation of the videogame as you can possibly get, without it becoming a succession of cut-scenes. On the other hand it is as faithful an adaptation of the videogame... Your mileage may vary, but make sure to don nostalgia goggles when you read the review and watch the movie.
Media Blasters’ budget re-release of Simoun Endless Melody Collection came out on DVD in 2012, and there should still be copies floating around. The Penguin Drum: Part 1 DVD, and Street Fighter II: The Movie Blu-ray come out today from Kazé Entertainment, distributed on the Manga label.
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