Niea Under 7: Volume 4

Introduction

And so we come to the fourth and final volume of NieA under 7, perhaps the most laid back comedy anime series ever. It's mood wallpaper of a show, the sort of thing you can watch and just feel good about being in its presence, even if your aren't sure why. There's not a lot going on at face value, but there's plenty of subtext. It wouldn't be a Yoshitoshi ABe show if there weren't, but it also makes it the hardest show to categorise, criticise or even wax lyrical about. Once again, I am most probably going to recommend this disc in the highest possible terms, but once again, I'll have a hell of time trying to justify that.


NieA under 7 is about… well not much really. It's the future, somewhere down the line in the 21st Century, but the world looks much as it does today, except that aliens are among us. Some years previously, a mothership came crashing to earth, and its inhabitants soon found homes living and working among humans. The aliens look pretty human, except for pointed ears and antennae on top of their heads. And no one on Earth is really bothered or excited by it all, at least not after all this time. Life goes on pretty much as normal, especially for Mayuko Chigasaki, a hard up student barely able to put herself through cram school. She lives in a small room in the Enohana bathhouse, a place that her family once owned, but is now owned by landlady Kotomi Hiyama. Her unwanted roommate is the alien girl NieA who lives in her closet, and whose lack of antenna marks her down on the lowest rung of alien society, an under 7. She constantly infuriates the hard working Mayuko with her freewheeling, and freeloading attitude to life, as well as the constant drain on her meagre fridge. And life goes on…

The three concluding episodes of NieA under 7 follow.


11. NieA under Seven Bath (The Former Part)
12. NieA under Seven Bath (The Latter Part)
With NieA still absent, Mayu's slowly becomes more and more stressed, although she's loath to admit that she misses the freeloading annoyance. With the Enohana baths slipping further and further into debt, the likelihood that Kotomi will have to sell increases. It doesn't help that Kotomi finally comes around to having the hole in the roof repaired, and when Mayu goes looking for NieA, the authorities have no time for an alien ranked as an under 7. Technically they don't exist. It all comes to a head when Mayu gets a package from her mother in the mail. And as you would expect, NieA suddenly turns up again, without any fuss or bother, without acknowledging that she has even been absent, and starving for Mayuko's food. As the usual argument erupts, the rain starts to fall. It's a typhoon, and the hasty patchwork holding the roof together while the builders repair it threatens to fall apart. As Mayu and NieA struggle to hold the tarp in place, something amazing is about to happen.


13. Time Flows By In Enohana Bath
Something amazing did happen. Except that no one really cared. Except NieA and Mayu, who witnessed it, and Chiaki, who is depressed because of it. You can't keep a good alien otaku down for long though. Autumn has arrived, and a hard up student and a free loading alien roommate are just as food deprived as ever. Mayu's watch keeps on stopping, and it's making her late for class, while NieA's building a brand new UFO. Just when the Enohana Bathhouse finally turns over a profit as well...

Picture

Age is certainly telling on this single layer disc, and while the transfer is clear and colourful, there is also a degree of rainbowing and cross-colouration that you just don't see on modern discs. Yoshitoshi ABe's character designs are quite naturally a major selling point in this show, and they are unique and memorable, while the world design certainly works wonders in establishing the show's weary, run-down mood. Enohana is a town in the grip of an economic downturn, and the way buildings aren't being taken care of, and the faded look of characters clothing is certainly indicative. NieA was one of the early anime shows that were accomplished wholly in the digital, there's nary an acetate cel to speak of here, and it does look a little primitive and unaccomplished to modern shows. Detail is lacking in the characters, especially when they are seen from a distance, and the issues with aliasing here have less to do with the DVD than they have to do with original animation techniques. The characters never really integrate with the backgrounds. It is a very colourful and cartoonish style, which takes a bit of getting used to, before it becomes invisible.

The disc is coded for Region 1 and Region 4, although due to a full stop masquerading as a hyphen, you may think Regions 2 & 3 are included as well. They're not.

Sound

You have a choice between DD 2.0 English and Japanese stereo, alongside a translated English subtitle track. You can tell the age of the disc by the absence of a separate signs only track (translated text is instead burnt into the image). The dialogue is clear, and a wonderfully whimsical acoustic soundtrack punctuates the episodes, with an emphasis on gentle guitars reflecting the ennui of life. Inevitably I opted for the original language track, which offered a pleasant enough viewing experience. I dipped my toe into the English dub, then leapt back, as if scalded. This an older dub, and it tells, with monotonous voice actors, and a distinct lack of acting transpiring. It's better left to one side.

Extras

This is also a disc from an era where extras were rare nuggets of gold, rather than taken for granted as they are today. In 2001 you probably would have been ecstatic to find animated menus and scene selection listed on the case. The animated menus in this case are really quite deftly accomplished and appreciated. You'll find 5 images in a Japanese DVD cover gallery, 2 pages of footnotes offering a glossary of terms for the show, and a couple of music clips featuring Karna and Chada.

Each episode except the final one ends with a live action bit from Dalgit, Chada's image consultant. A Sikh who can speak fluent Japanese constantly fascinates me, and Dalgit offers little bits of Indian trivia to Japanese audiences.

Conclusion

NieA under 7 ends the way that it began and continued, accomplishing not much at all, but still somehow managing to entertain and satisfy. It's a mood enhancer of a show; it takes what you have and gives you back some more. It's funny enough to keep a smile on your face. If you're feeling a little disillusioned about the world, there's enough social comment in it to give you a little justified righteousness, and if you're feeling down, you'll find some character moments to sympathise with. It's just a pleasant, warm cuddle of a show, and somehow at the end of each episode, you feel a smidge better about yourself and the world.


The first two episodes on this disc follow Mayuko's self realisation, with NieA's absence hitting her hard, and the prospect of losing her home adding to her worries. She's constantly badmouthed NieA, ripping into her when she brings home a new pile of junk, or cleans out her fridge. But she sees that everyone likes NieA for the sense of freedom that she has, the refusal to conform, and it soon becomes clear that it's envy of that, which motivates her own harsh treatment of the alien. With all that is changing in her life, NieA is a source of constancy, despite her freewheeling nature, and it's no surprise that Mayu goes looking for her. The harshness of the social structure becomes clear when she asks the authorities for help, only to learn that under 7 aliens aren't even on their books; officially they don't exist. There's just one moment where you think that the worm will turn, and that harsh tongue that Mayu reserves for NieA will instead be turned to her social superiors, but she still has a reluctance to rock the boat.


Of course NieA returns without fanfare or grand entrance, and still utterly hungry, and after all the stress, their reunion is understated. It's good to see though that when the two resume their quarrel, arguing over the last morsel of food, the rancour and bitterness that Mayu had, has been expunged, and it's more of an affectionate blazing row. We also learn what that mysterious voice that NieA heard was all about, but the show being what it is, it doesn't matter at all in the grand scheme of things, and this being an ABe show, it's one of those questions that are left hanging for viewers to speculate about. The final episode is really just a resumption of the status quo, a chance for each of the characters to shine, and a restatement of the show's main message, that no matter what the circumstances, life goes on, and you get out of it what you put in.


NieA under 7 is perhaps the weakest Yoshitoshi ABe show, although I'm hard-pressed to explain why. It's not big on plot, the story is practically non-existent, but then again it was never about the story, it was more about establishing a mood. It's frivolous and lightweight, often descending to utterly cartoonish stereotypes, just short of the bug-out eyes and spit-takes of Looney Tunes shorts, but it is supposed to be a comedy. The animation isn't all that great, indeed in the final episode here, it's apparent when the budget runs out, as the show suddenly starts looking very primitive indeed, but it still manages to get its point across, and be utterly evocative and atmospheric as well. It's supposed to be a piece of fluff, animated wallpaper that you just immerse yourself in, sample the moods and feelings it evokes, and partake of the occasional goofiness, and in everything that it sets out to do, it succeeds. It just feels thin, as if there could have been more to it, without altering what it aimed to be. ABe shows aren't all that forthcoming with answers in the first place, the enigma behind them is what makes them so appealing. I just feel that there ought to have been more questions to NieA under 7. I'd still recommend it though.