Review: Phoenix – The Complete Collection (Dub)

Medium: TV Anime (13 episodes)
Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Historical
Director: Takahashi Ryosuke
Studio: Tezuka Productions
Release Dates: Mar. 21, 2004 – May 4, 2004 (Japan), Nov. 25, 2008 (Media Blasters – N.America)
Rated: Not Rated

After the fun we had with Tezuka Month, I found myself tempted by a complete 13-episode box set of Phoenix: Perfect Collection sitting by itself at a convention. What I discovered was a Tezuka-style story in a digitally-glossed over aesthetic that seems a bit out of place, but stands true to the original work. Even with some slower, epic moments, Phoenix is a wonderfully crafted story with as many highs and lows as the original manga volumes. The opening animation, with its classical orchestra and ominous female solo over the opening credits, already dictates a story of philosophical ambition as the Phoenix flies out of an infant galaxy, across a space Buddha, and into the corona of a sun that becomes a metaphor for ... wait for it Lion King fans ... the circle of life.

Phoenix follows the main stories of the manga collection by Osamu Tezuka in arcs that run from one to five episodes in length. Beginning with the largest story, Dawn, the series leaps in time back and forth by thousands of years, going from ancient times to the end of mankind and planet Earth itself. Other than the recurring role of Saruta, Tezuka’s stock tragedy character with the melon-sized blistered nose, Phoenix does not center on any one character, rather it follows how they are all affected by the title character, the elusive and sparkly Pidgeot, also known as the Phoenix. The longer stories are my favorites since they have the chance to grow and change, evolving from supernatural to political drama to war movie with the grace of a swan flapping its wings.

The story of Inugami, a member of a royal family whose face is replaced with a wolf’s, was one of the most compelling pieces as the lines between man and monster are blurred while Tezuka kicks organized religion right in the gonads. The shorter stories act as allegories about the injustice of killing one to save many: in both cases, the Phoenix grants her gift of immortality as a cruel, Twilight Zone-esque punishment.

The show has a big animation budget, with lighting and shading effects almost taking center stage during some action scenes, although the movement and kinetic energy are captured and translated superbly from Tezuka’s original layout. What throws me off is how out-of-place a Tezuka design looks in full color. For some reason, I can’t get over a Tezuka character design placed in front of a realistic setting; the facial proportions are too larger-than-life to ignore.

I was very surprised to find Media Blasters in charge of the dub, and even more blown away by how well it was executed. Recorded at NYAV Post in New York City, a handful of A-list dubbers were called in for lighter roles, with studio director Mike Sinterniklaas pulling his weight throughout the series. The highlight goes to the diversity of Danny Burstein, who alters Saruta’s aggression and passion throughout the story as both the times and the character age. This is a very competent and well-translated dub which made me ignore the original Japanese track entirely. I even turned off the subtitles when I realized how much more coherent the English speech track was by comparison.

What I am most thankful with for this re-imagining is its honesty to the source material, in that every story hammers home the defining instincts of mankind: survival, war, transformation leading to rebirth, and robots.

[Recommended]

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This review is based on a retail copy of the Media Blasters DVD box set, purchased by the reviewer.

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NYAF08: Media Blasters/Del Rey/ANN panel reports [EDIT 2]

Surprisingly, Saturday at the New York Anime Festival was not as hectic as Friday was. With more panel time during the day and hence more time between panels, it was much easier for my bloggers-in-crime (Brad, Gia, Scott) and I to get from panel to panel and still have time for, you know, food and actually enjoying ourselves.

Media Blasters

Joe Chagan and Merideth Mulroney from Media Blasters began their panel with two points; points which would become the center of their entire message:

• We're still in business!
• We have an announcement, but our boss won't let us tell you.

Other than that, the two friendly representatives opened themselves up for questions, giving surprisingly candid and telling answers that you can only get from Media Blasters and their unique marketing style. First off, on Media Blasters' solvency in the dangerous climate of today's anime market, Merideth reminded us that the company is "holding our own because we're feisty." The "big announcement" was hinted at being something involving a new title (i.e. NOT retro) that will make you go "holy crap, THAT ONE?"

When asked about a Blu-ray release for MB's remaster of Berserk, Merideth reminded us that regardless of high-def quality, "16mm is 16mm." She also clarified that the main reason for Seirei no Moribito's DVD release delay is that she still doesn't have all of the original artwork for the show after six months of waiting. Finally, the reps also plugged MB's new online card game Alteil (preview coming soon), and let us know that the company is/was interested in picking up Cream Lemon, Turn A Gundam, and Black Lagoon.

Media Blasters denies any plans for a unified anime channel with other companies due to the immense costs of running a television channel. They also say that a burn-on-demand plan will not work for a small company like Media Blasters until someone else makes a system that they can adapt for their own needs.

Del Rey

Unlike AnimeNEXT, at this Del Rey panel the company was up a proverbial creek without a not-so-proverbial Dallas Middaugh. Del Rey's charismatic Associate Publisher was unable to come to the convention due to previous engagements (i.e. his honeymoon), so standing in for him was the equally (if not more) charismatic Ali T. Kokmen. Del Rey, friend of the press, gave us the new announcements rapid-fire at the beginning of the panel, without all of that annoying suspense of other industry panels.

• Del Rey is teaming up with Cartoon Network, bringing Ben10 and Bakugan film comics and light novels to stores. Cue Bakugan trailer with terrrrrible theme music. "Fight for what's right before it's gone! This is Bakugan!"
• The first Bakugan film comic is in December 2008, and the second is in March 2009. An original manga is coming in Summer 2009.
• Ben10 is getting the first film comic release in April 2009, with the original manga in November of 2009.
• Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture in Fall 2009 - It's about cute bacteria. And it's apparently educational. AWO complained that it wasn't licensed. TAKE THAT!
• Tsubasa Character Guide 2 in Summer 2009 - Yeah, it's another one. It covers volumes 8-14.
• Amefurashi in July 2009 - From the creator of Haridama: Magic Cram School and Venus vs. Virus, it looks alright.
• Maid War Chronicles in May 2009 - The illustrator is from Mao-chan. It's about fighting maids. You know you want it.

Most of the rest of the panel was spent answering questions and throwing squishy gavels at the audience to promote Del Rey's new Phoenix Wright manga license. Trust me, you had to be there for some of Ali's lines. Why is Del Rey so gosh darn awesome asks Japanator reader KuronoK? "Diet and exercise." We love you Del Rey.

Anime News Network

[EDIT: Gia let me know during Podtoid-san today that this was previously announced. Oops!] Quite ironically, there was also some news out of the center of anime news themselves, Anime News Network, during their (self-)celebratory 10th Anniversary panel. Namely, the web site, which has already pursued some mode of video presence on the web, will now be working to license new series from Japan and provide them online. There will be free, low-quality videos streaming on the web site, and $3 high-quality (presumably DRM-free) episodes, in a pricing scheme suspiciously similar to that of asian media site CrunchyRoll.

The only shows that will be on the service as of right now are three Media Blasters titles: Girls High, Kite Liberator, and Ramen Fighter Miki. While I'll admit my personal skepticism on their ability to pull this off, New Media Director and Founder Justin Sevakis says, regarding release dates, "simultaneous is our goal." Subbing before the show comes out? I think that requires a bit more leverage than ANN has over Japanese companies. Maybe I'm wrong.

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Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-Chan licensed by Media Blasters

Media Blasters, the dubbers of Rurouni Kenshin, recently announced they have received licensing rights for the OVA Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-Chan. For those who do not know what the show is, it is essentially everything that people say makes up anime. It is about an angel sent from the future to kill a boy whose destiny is to make a machine that will keep all the girls in the world "loli"-fied. However, she feels that she cannot kill him so instead she becomes his guardian, hitting on him a lot then killing him when he gets too far, bringing him back to life with a nonsense magic spell. I kid you not. The resource link makes it sound far cleaner.

The series is short, only 8 11-minute long episodes. There is also a TV version that is made up of 4 11-minute episodes, which has not been confirmed for licensing with the OVA.

[via Anime News Network]

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