{"id":80,"date":"2006-09-16T22:42:10","date_gmt":"2006-09-17T02:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/archives\/80"},"modified":"2008-09-28T13:57:12","modified_gmt":"2008-09-28T17:57:12","slug":"figure-17-anime-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/2006\/09\/16\/figure-17-anime-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Figure 17&#8211;Anime Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/image\/stars\/3o5.gif\" alt=\"3 stars\"\/><br \/>\nAbout half-way through this series it occurred to me that I was watching two loosely-connected but very different stories:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>A coming of age story about twin girls living on a farm in Hokkaido.<\/li>\n<li>A science fiction adventure about fighting monsters with the help of an unusual type of <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#mecha\">mecha<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The two stories even look different: the first has a bright, cheerful hand-drawn appearance; the second is dark, with the rather soulless look that comes from over-reliance on computer-generated images.<\/p>\n<p>The coming of age story is very well done (though very sentimental) and gets most of the screen time.<\/p>\n<p>The science fiction story is definitely the lesser of the two. It is not particularly original and not as thrilling as it wants to be.<\/p>\n<p>This led me to wonder if the science fiction story could have been eliminated entirely. Something similar to the first story could have been written without including the SF elements, but I don&#8217;t think it would really have worked. There is one important respect in which the main story <em>needs<\/em> the science fiction story.<\/p>\n<p>If you like sentimental stories about children growing up then you probably will like this one a lot. On the other hand if you can&#8217;t stand stories like that, you should consider yourself warned.<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ItemList\">\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Original Title<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Figure 17: Tsubasa &#038; Hikaru<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Demographic<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Seinen<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Genres<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Drama, Coming of Age, Science Fiction, Mecha (sort of)<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Contents<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">13 45-minute episodes on 6 DVDs<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Director<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Naohito Takahashi<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Writer<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Shoji Yonemura<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Animation<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Anime World Osaka,<br \/>\nKyoto Animation<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Broadcast<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">AT-X, 2001-2002<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Region 1 Publisher<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Anime Works \/ Media Blasters<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>DVD Notes<\/h3>\n<p>As is often the case, the English dub is the weakest part of the DVD release. I&#8217;m sure the American voice actors did their best, but they are totally outclassed by the Japanese cast, especially Fumiko Orikasa in the crucial role of Hikaru. (Somehow Willow Armstrong manages to make the character sound rather irritating. Perhaps it just takes a lot of skill and sensitivity to portray a character like Hikaru <em>without<\/em> making her seem irritating.)<\/p>\n<p>My advice is to switch to the Japanese soundtrack with subtitles for a much better viewing experience.<\/p>\n<h3>Parental Advisory<\/h3>\n<p>This series is appropriate for teenagers and adults.<\/p>\n<p>It does not contain anything that most parents would consider inappropriate for younger viewers. There are no sexual situations of any sort. The monster-fighting action sequences might be frightening to young children, but would not disturb any American ten-year-old.<\/p>\n<p>However the story itself contains some very sad elements that would keep most preteen viewers from enjoying it. <\/p>\n<h3>Premise and Characters<\/h3>\n<h4>First Episode Summary<\/h4>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"Thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/tsubasa1.jpg\" alt=\"Tsubasa Shiina\" \/><strong>Tsubasa Shiina<\/strong> is a 10-year old girl who has just moved from Tokyo to Hokkaido. The move is not easy for her. A shy, quiet girl, haunted by the death of her mother, she is heartbroken at having to leave her best friend behind.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"Thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/farm.jpg\" alt=\"Farm\" \/>Tokyo is one of the worlds largest cities: dynamic, exciting, noisy and crowded. Hokkaido is rural and sparsely populated. Numerous animes begin with a character moving from one place to the other (usually in the opposite direction) and experiencing culture shock.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/class1.jpg\" alt=\"Classmates\" \/>Feeling lonely and isolated, Tsubasa retreats into a shell. Her classmates at her new school assume that she is a stuck-up city girl who thinks she is too good for them.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image85\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/HideoShiina.jpg\" alt=\"Hideo Shiina\" \/><strong>Hideo Shiina<\/strong> is Tsubasa&#8217;s father, whose desire to escape from the life of a salaryman is what prompted the move. He loves Tsubasa very much, but he has no clue about what she is going through. Also he is too busy right now to spend much time with her.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image86\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/pilot.jpg\" alt=\"Pilot\" \/>The story takes an extraordinary turn one night when Tsubasa, left alone in the house, sees a bright light and hears an explosion. The farm&#8217;s dog runs into the woods to investigate. She runs after it and comes upon a crashed UFO, with an injured alien pilot.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image87\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/maguar.jpg\" alt=\"Maguar\" \/>A grotesque creature emerges from the crashed spaceship. It is a <strong>Maguar<\/strong>, a fierce, extremely adaptable monster inimical to all other forms of life.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image88\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/ribers.jpg\" alt=\"Activating a Ribers\" \/>The pilot (whose name, we find out later, is <strong>D.D.<\/strong>) wakes up just in time and decides to fight the monster using an advanced weapon system called a <strong>Ribers<\/strong>. This is some sort of ultra-sophisticated shape-changing battle armor designed to obey the mental commands of its wearer.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image89\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/dd-figure.jpg\" alt=\"Figure\" \/>The Ribers turns into a glowing cloud that surrounds D.D. and solidifies into a sort of robot-like thing that looks like him.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image90\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/dd-spear.jpg\" alt=\"Fighting\" \/>D.D. and the Ribers fight the monster, but he doesn&#8217;t seem to have too much talent for this sort of thing. The fight ends with them tossed to the ground and D.D. knocked unconscious. His Ribers vanishes.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image91\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/brokencontainer.jpg\" alt=\"Broken Container\" \/>Pursued by the monster, Tsubasa runs into the crashed spaceship. Somehow the case containing a spare Ribers gets broken.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image92\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/transformation.jpg\" alt=\"Transformation\" \/>The Ribers surrounds Tsubasa&#8230;\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image93\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/figure17.jpg\" alt=\"Figure 17\" \/>&#8230;And takes the form of a robot-like thing that does not look like her. Instead it looks like a rather well-endowed young woman. (Maybe that is supposed to be what Tsubasa will look like when she grows up?)\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image94\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/inside.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the Ribers\" \/>Inside the Ribers, Tsubasa hears a voice which promises to protect her and gives her advice on how to fight the Maguar.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image95\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/kill.jpg\" alt=\"Killing the Monster\" \/>Somehow Tsubasa and the Ribers are able to kill the monster.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image96\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/separate.jpg\" alt=\"separate.jpg\" \/>Now that the Maguar is dead, the Ribers separates from Tsubasa&#8230;\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image97\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/newgirl.jpg\" alt=\"New Girl\" \/>&#8230;And takes the form of a little girl who looks just like her. Not only does it look like her, it knows everything that she does, having acquired copies of all her memories. This may bring up uncomfortable thoughts of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0049366\/\"><em>Invasion of the Body Snatchers<\/em><\/a>, but fortunately the Ribers just wants to be friends.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image98\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/HukaruTsubasa.jpg\" alt=\"Hukaru &#038; Tsubasa\" \/>It, or rather &#8220;she&#8221;, decides to call herself <strong>Hikaru<\/strong>. (This is a verb meaning &#8220;shine&#8221; or &#8220;sparkle&#8221;. &#8220;Tsubasa&#8221; means &#8220;wings&#8221;, so we seem to have an aspirational theme going on here.)<\/p>\n<p>Although she looks just like Tsubasa, Hikaru&#8217;s personality is quite different. She is cheerful, outgoing and very brave.<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image99\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/dd-problems.jpg\" alt=\"D.D.\" \/>D.D. has a problem. His ship was carrying six Maguar eggs. One produced the monster that was just killed. The other five are missing, presumably scattered around Hokkaido.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\nWill Tsubasa have to fight more monsters? And how will people react if they find out that she now has a twin? Stay tuned for the next episode&#8230;\n<\/div>\n<h4>Other Characters<\/h4>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image100\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/AkikoHibino.jpg\" alt=\"Akiko Hibino\" \/><strong>Akiko Hibino<\/strong> is Tsubasa&#8217;s home room teacher.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image101\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/AsukaKarasawa.jpg\" alt=\"Asuka Karasawa\" \/><strong>Asuka Karasawa<\/strong> is the class officer, a bossy but good-hearted girl.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image102\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/NorikoItou.jpg\" alt=\"Noriko Itou\" \/><strong>Noriko Itou<\/strong> is Asuka&#8217;s best friend.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image103\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/KentaHagiwara.jpg\" alt=\"Kenta Hagiwara\" \/><strong>Kenta Hagiwara<\/strong> is an unfriendly, bad-tempered boy.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image104\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/ShinjiOgawa.jpg\" alt=\"Shinji Ogawa\" \/>His buddy <strong>Shinji Ogawa<\/strong> can also be rather annoying.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image105\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/ShoAizawa.jpg\" alt=\"Sho Aizawa\" \/>However their friend <strong>Sho Aizawa<\/strong> is a friendly, sensitive boy who wants to be a writer.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image106\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/MinaSawada.jpg\" alt=\"Mina Sawada\" \/><strong>Mina Sawada<\/strong> is the sort of girl who looks sweet but is actually very hostile.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image107\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/TokioAoyama.jpg\" alt=\"Tokio Aoyama\" \/><strong>Tokio Aoyama<\/strong> is a boy from another class with a bad attitude.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image108\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/Orudina.jpg\" alt=\"Orudina\" \/><strong>Orudina<\/strong> is another alien who arrives to rescue D.D. and stays to help with the Maguar infestation. She must outrank D.D., since he always follows her orders even when they seem ill-advised.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image109\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/RokuroIbaragi.jpg\" alt=\"Rokuro Ibaragi\" \/><strong>Rokuro Ibaragi<\/strong> is a gruff old farmer.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image110\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/RinIbaragi.jpg\" alt=\"Rin Ibaragi\" \/>His wife <strong>Rin Ibaragi<\/strong> is a cheerful grandmother who likes to indulge children.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image111\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/ShinichiIbaragi.jpg\" alt=\"Shinichi Ibaragi\" \/>Their son <strong>Shinichi Ibaragi<\/strong> manages the bakery where Hideo is working.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image112\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/KyokoIbaragi.jpg\" alt=\"Kyoko Ibaragi\" \/><strong>Kyoko Ibaragi<\/strong> is Shinichi&#8217;s wife.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image113\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/SakuraIbaragi.jpg\" alt=\"Sakura Ibaragi\" \/>Their daughter <strong>Sakura Ibaragi<\/strong> is a sullen adolescent. She hates living on a farm and dreams of moving to Tokyo.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image114\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/Toru.jpg\" alt=\"Toru\" \/><strong>Toru<\/strong> is a jolly farmhand.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image115\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/Atsushi.jpg\" alt=\"Atsushi\" \/>So is <strong>Atsushi<\/strong>.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"image116\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/IsamuKuroda.jpg\" alt=\"Isamu Kuroda\" \/><strong>Isamu Kuroda<\/strong> is a bored reporter who decides to investigate the rumors of strange happenings in the area.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\" \/>\n<h3>Additional Notes<\/h3>\n<p>I want to comment on the ending, which necessarily involves giving it away. If you have not seen the series you should NOT click on the following link: <a href=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/spoilers-the-ending-of-figure-17\/\">Spoilers: The Ending of Figure 17<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Links<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/anime.php?id=1116\">Anime News Network<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Figure_17\">Wikipedia Article (mild spoilers)<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/figure17.areaseven.net\/main.html\">Area Seven Fan Site<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About half-way through this series it occurred to me that I was watching two loosely-connected but very different stories: A coming of age story about twin girls living on a&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/2006\/09\/16\/figure-17-anime-review\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[130],"class_list":["post-80","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anime","tag-figure-17"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1743,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80\/revisions\/1743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}