Moby Dick, Last Exile, Paprika, Armitage: Dual Marix, Taken, Dark City, Maetel Legend, Herlock Saga, and maybe one or two more I'm not remembering off the top of my head.
Hakugei: Legend of the Moby Dick
Not the one you're thinking of, most likely. Probably not that one, either. Nope, not that one.
This version of Moby Dick has some very clear references back to the Herman Melville's original work, but you probably won't recognize them if you didn't read the original. Sure, Ahab isn't insane, and Patrick Stewart couldn't have portrayed Ahab with this script. Sure, it's a science fiction anime set so far into the future that there aren't any recognizable astronomical features. Sure, the science in it sucks. The villains are different. Only a few original cast members are necessarily recognizable. It's got a lot of comic relief, which I don't remember the original having. It's probably a good thing that the Ishmael character didn't discover the Queeqeg character in the same bed early on; We look at these things with suspicion rather than laughter, these days. It's also kinda campy, using 70s-freeze-frame-type scenes in emotional situations at eyecatch and in place of episode fade, but I don't remember if Melville's work did anything analogous.
Yeah, there are a lot of differences. But there are some rather striking similarities.
First, the Ishmael character takes on a very prominent narrator role, as in the original book. Second, just as the original book would dedicate whole chapters to what would be an establishing shot in a movie today, the anime devotes a great deal of screen time describing the particulars of the worlds and places the characters find themselves in.
All in all, I enjoyed it. Campy plot and occasional weird antics aside, it was fun watching and noting references to the original book.
Last Exile
Watched this one all the way through. The series is incredibly beautiful, making amazing use of CGI clouds, smoke and steam and distant-horizon scenes, showing an incredible amount of detail. The series would almost be worth buying if that were the only thing it had going for it.
However, the series plot and characters really carry it. In one way or another, pretty much every character with a speaking role has important backstory or is revisited later, sometimes even the actions of seemingly minor characters are revealed to have significant impact long after they've left the stage. There are stories of betrayal, heartwarming, comedy, tragedy, suspense leading to relief and sadness, mystery, rage, devotion, twists, legend, epic tales, sacrifice, duty and honor. And all of this within 24 episodes.
And did I mention it's beautiful to watch? All in all, one of the absolute best stories I've had the pleasure of watching. I strongly recommend it for anyone who likes a little depth.
Paprika
Not the first time I've seen it. I just mention it because I watched it again, and I like it. Each time I watch it, I change my mind on what exactly is going on. Is it a dream? Is it reality? What is reality? A fun bit.
Armitage: Dual Matrix
The second in an action thriller series that revolves around figuring out the man and sentient machine problem, throwing in analogous questions of civil rights, a variation on interstellar democracy, and what constitutes parenting and instinct.
I enjoyed it, but I like dark, moody things. Will need to pick up the next movies.
Taken
Liam Neeson kicks ass in order to find and save his daughter. Almost no unusual gadgets. His methods are pretty much a combination of contacts, social engineering, brawling capability and determination.
And I only knew as much as the first sentence when I bought the BD. Very worth watching.
Dark City
It took me a while to find out where the song in this AMV came from, and when I had the opportunity to watch it this week, I took it.
Coming out a year before The Matrix, Dark City also addresses the themes of Who Are We and What's Wrong With this Picture. Add a character capable of modifying the world around him.
Dark City differs greatly in that rather than being on Earth, no reference to Earth is made at all. In fact, nobody In The Know really knows where they are at all. Additionally, rather than being energy sources, everyone's a rat in the maze.
The movie follows a few of those in the maze as they slowly notice something's wrong, and start trying to figure out what exactly it is.
The movie has a bittersweet ending. And then the fridge logic sets in.
I think only two things keep this movie from being well-known. A Michael Bay film came out the same year, and The Matrix had more T&A, guns and robots. Having seen it, I happen to think Dark City's special effects were better done and more contributory to the story than those in The Matrix were.
By the way, can you tell me how to get to Shell Beach?
Maetel Legend
After watching a couple Captain Herlock series, we've sorta begun picking up on watching the rest of the Leiji Matsumoto universe. There are a lot of interconnects, either artistic, plot-related or even common universe elements. It's the sandbox game of anime watching; There are a ton of different places you can go, and they may or may not be directly related, but most of them take place in the same universe (the sandbox). You could probably create a Bingo card set for watching for common components.
Herlock Saga
It's hard to watch this one if you saw Space Pirate Captain Herlock first; While he's by no means hyper, he's a go-getter by comparison. First Officer degrades from a likable, laid-back genius to what feels like a terrified child, by comparison. One of the crew members that seems mysterious and weird in SPCH appears in Herlock Saga in a much more central role, but not part of the crew.
Daiba appears, and it looks like the same character (though that character's appearance w also in Maetel Legend, its appearance there was completely unrelated), and even has the same name, but he has a different personality and ethic.
The best way I can relate Herlock Saga to SPCH is that Herlock Saga provides background for some of the characters in Space Pirate Captain Herlock, but there's no direct relationship within the universe's continuity. In fact, I suspect the Leiji Matsumoto doesn't try to preserve continuity, but rather expects the viewer to take the pieces of the same characters from the various works and form a mental image of the character that works for them.
I'm hoping to see more of Matsumoto's works; There are so many unusual relationships between them that it's interesting to watch and piece things together.
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