Review of Moon Phase: Phase 3

Introduction

The third volume of Moon Phase turns up for review, and reluctant though I am to review anime, they twisted my arm... The first volumes heralded a curiously interesting show, a blend of cuteness and spookiness that promises to charm viewers into liking it. It`s your usual anime fish out of water premise, with a cute teenage vampire living with a family renowned for defeating supernatural phenomenon. What makes Moon Phase stand out is the way in which it blends the comedy with the story. Instead of settling for the usual harem mayhem antics, Moon Phase has one eye firmly on the overreaching story, and mood and atmosphere count for more than opting for the easy pratfall. If the show keeps up this standard, then Moon Phase could turn out to be special indeed.

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.

The next four episodes of Moon Phase are presented on this third volume from Revelation. Previously, Count Kinkel arrived to take Hazuki back to the castle, but she wasn`t willing to go, and Kouhei and his family confronted Kinkel in order to rescue her.

11. Big Brother, Get Some Rest!
Sisters Kaoru and Hikaru are about to head home to Kyoto when a blackout leaves their train in the station. It`s just the excuse they need to stay with Kouhei while he is recuperating. And so friction commences between the sisters and Hazuki over who rules the roost and who will take care of Kouhei. But when Kouhei`s grandfather takes a turn for the worse in hospital, it`s up to Hazuki to get the family together and find Seiji, who has gone missing. Not a simple order for a vampire during daylight hours.

12. I`ll Never Forgive Him
The vicious Count Kinkel is up to his dirty tricks again in an effort to get Lady Luna back and take his revenge on the Mido clan. Now he`s kidnapped grandpa Ryuuhei from his hospital bed, enthralled Hiromi and her chief editor as his servants, and demanded a showdown with Kouhei in Hazuki`s old home. It`s a trap of course, but they have no choice but to walk in. And with Kinkel`s ability to control the flow of light, they`ll be trapped in his illusions. To top it all off, Kinkel has an ominous talent for a vampire.

13. Let`s Defeat The Count
Kinkel is a daywalker. His talent for manipulating light means that he can safely brave the midday sun. No matter what time of day it is, no light can touch him. It means that he has Kouhei in his grasp, and neither Elfriede nor Hazuki can come to his rescue. Seiji is totally outclassed, as no matter what plans they make, Kinkel is one step ahead. Hazuki will have to risk everything in order to save her slave.

14. Big Brother, Will You Walk With Me?
Hazuki isn`t in right now. Another personality has taken over. Lady Luna has come to the forefront, or has she? Luna was the personality implanted by Hazuki`s father to keep her confined to the castle, and following the previous battle with Kinkel has reappeared. But this isn`t Luna as Kouhei remembers. This Luna is timid, likeable, friendly and empathetic. Kouhei actually misses the abrasive, arrogant slave driver and is worried. Elfriede posits that the Hazuki and Luna personalities are merging. Hazuki is a daywalker herself, naturally able to tolerate the light, and she asks Kouhei to take her on a daytime tour of the city. But it`s a talent that will make her a target for all and sundry among the vampire community.

Video

Moon Phase gets a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer consistent with most modern anime series (although the packaging erroneously states 4:3), 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.

Audio

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).

The subtitle font is back to normal size and easily legible, following the small font of volume 2

Features

There are just your basic anime extras on this disc. You get the jaggie free textless credit sequences, with the Tsukiyomi Mode alternate replacing the normal opening, as well as trailers for the Full Metal Alchemist movie and Beck.

There are another set of 8 character profiles, which add to the roster from the first volume, and updating a few existing ones given the story developments thus far. An interesting one is Lady Luna`s, Hazuki`s alter ego.

Conclusion

Ditto!

That`s the drawback of reviewing serial television, when a show maintains consistency from one volume to the next. Practically everything I praised about volume 2 applies to the third volume of Moon Phase. It isn`t just the quality of the transfer that stays the same, so does the quirky animation, the storytelling, the character development and the standard of the writing. It may be an absolute joy to watch, but it`s accompanied by a commensurate measure of pain, wracking my brain trying to think of a new way to spell out its positive qualities, before urging you to part with your cash as soon as possible.

I still find one of the strongest qualities of the show is how it has managed to blend humour and drama to create a rounded whole. It can switch from absurd comedy to gothic bleakness at the drop of a pin, and make it seem natural and fitting. We`re still dealing with the aftermath of the first encounter with Kinkel at the start of the disc, with various members of the Mido clan in disrepair. With Kouhei recuperating, Grandpa in hospital and Seiji at work, it`s down to Hazuki to take care of her slave. It`s a situation that sisters Hikaru and Kaoru can`t abide, so they delay their return to Kyoto to keep Kouhei safe from the vampire. Cue much confrontation and humour as they rub each other the wrong way, while trying to outdo each other in taking care of the patient. But Hazuki is no longer the spoiled vampire of old, and Kaoru and Hikaru`s respect is earned when Grandpa takes a turn for the worse, and Hazuki takes charge.

With the first confrontation inconclusive, and Elfriede still in Hinkel`s grasp, there was bound to be a rematch, and much of the pre-fight build up happens off screen. The vampire enslaves Hiromi and the Chief Editor of the magazine, and Grandpa is kidnapped, all to convince Kouhei to walk into Kinkel`s trap. The showdown happens at Hazuki`s old house, awakening more than a few memories for her, and the fight reveals some of the vampires` innate abilities, as well as some story revelations.

Kinkel, and Elfriede before him, had been attempting to awaken Lady Luna within Hazuki to convince her to return to the castle, and when Luna did eventually wake, it led to Kouhei being injured. The duality in Hazuki`s personality is an interesting aspect of the show, and it takes an odd twist in the final episode on the disc. It appears as if Hazuki and Luna are beginning to merge, and the resultant character is far more open and likeable, being forthright about her feelings. Kouhei being a klutz manages to insert his foot in his mouth.

The thing that I like most about Moon Phase is that I have absolutely no idea where it will go next. Thus far my speculations have consistently fallen short of the mark, and each subsequent episode has been like a new dish to savour. There aren`t many anime that can make that claim, and it`s one reason why I anticipate the next volume of Moon Phase so eagerly. Thoroughly refreshing anime!