Apperantly quite hyped up in Japan, this series flew under my radar for quite a while till I was curious enough to google the title after all seeing it pop up quite often. To my surprise this show had Shinji Aramaki on the staff list as both director and mecha-designer. Any anime fan who hasn`t been around say the 80`s mainly would know Aramaki from his most recent work as a director namely from the CG Appleseed movies Appleseed and Appleseed EX Machina. His 80`s work involve the excellent Metal Skin Panic : Madox 01 and the fiasco that was Megazone 23#3 as such Aramaki is mostly popular not for his directing work but mostly so for his mechanical designs which are top-notch and even if you don`t recoqnise his name you`ve probably seen his handywork in Bubble Gum Crisis (2033) Mospeada, Megazone 23 and hell, even M.A.S.K that cheesy 80`s show with the themesong that gets stuck in your head for days on end !

The storyline is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the few remaining cities are under constant threat of mechanised terrorist attacks that utilise remnants from the war the originally called “Bug mecha” yep these quad-legged armored monstrosities look like they came straight out of Ghost in the shell. PMC`s (Private Military Corporation) works to protect cities from these terrorists using Aramaki trade-mark mechanised motorcycles called Manouver Blades which are the show`s center of attention. They can freely change from a speedy motorcycle to a humanoid robot form that resemble those found in the original Megazone 23 and don’t even think about comparing these babies to Ridebacks (from the anime title:Rideback) as these things are specialised for combat bristling with weapons like missiles,chainsaws and assault rifles.

Having said the most redeeming thing about Viper’s Creed let me get down dirty with the things I didn`t like after watching the initial two episodes. This show doesn’t pretend to have any sort of storyline or bothers to show characters with strong emotion or any sort of other attribute other than being totally flat and uninteresting.
The basic premise regarding the state of the world and why the Manovuer Blades piloted by the PMC’s mercenaries is explained with a screentime of approximentally one minute during both episodes and the character stereotypes and flatness of them almost have no bounds.
Where there’s action there’s plenty of GITS styled spidertanks to shoot hot lead at but I’m affraid that might not be enough to keep this show floating. The voice acting is uninspiring and doesn’t persuade, but how can they with such stereotypically boring chara’s to play out.

The CGI is passable for the most part and additionally the artwork presented troughout the first two episodes of the cityscape and such are bland, desolate,boring,repetitive and too sterile looking A trait shared by alot of anime TV shows that showed up after the start of the digital era.
It`s just silly seeing a shot of the semi-sunken city with the few buildings that are in sight having no texturing what so ever and appear to be completly flat and the highway that seemingly go nowhere are in pristine quality with the few mostly un-textured buildings you do see look like deserted dumps.

I will keep this on my watch list . . for now; I’m not expecting much from Viper’s Creed and unless it gets any better it will remain one of those shows you’ll only bother watching if your bored and need to see stuff being blown up. Even then, you’d be better off with Gundam 00 which does it all in better animation,art and style.

After 6 episodes, Madhouse’s new anime series Rideback continues to shine as by far the best thing airing in Japan right now.

The tone of the series has shifted slightly to one more of intrigue as the military and civilian plot lines are starting to come together. Rin continues to be my favorite recent anime character, bumping Nakiami from Xam’doff her pedestal . I really have to hand it to the character designer for this show. Her expressions speak volumes about her inner drive and determination, it’s actually very inspiring.

The animation quality continues to be stellar. Madhouse was an early pioneer of the use of 3d in conjunction with 2d with Blood: The Last Vampire. It’s clear watching Rideback that they are at the top of the industry at doing so effectively now. I have never seen any anime more custom made for High definition than Rideback.

Do yourself a huge favor and check it out!

IT'S A TRAP!!

Maria Holicis a new anime comedy series that recently began airing in Japan. These days mostly due to general disillusionment with modern Otaku culture, I don’t even bother keeping track of what is coming out. Sometimes this is to my detriment, as I never would have discovered the amazing Rideback if not for Gwenster’s reccomendation. Gwenster recommended Maria Holic as well, and while we don’t always see eye to eye in what we like, in general our tastes run similar, so I checked it out.

Maria holic is a pretty insane show. It has a more convoluted premise than most animes but I can’t say the most convoluted. It cribs bits and pieces from a million older shows and manga such as Ranma 1/2, DNA2, Koko wa Greenwood, and Excell saga to name but a few. and does it reasonably well. I don’t really want to spoil all the jokes in the first episode by explaining the premise because, really, that is all this show has going for it. The show is pretty crass in it’s vulgarity. That’s not nessisarily a bad thing. Detroit Metal City was vulgar as can be but completely laugh out loud funny and mostly original. Maria holic on the other hand is just a collection of recycled gags from better shows, and is obviously aimed primarily at Otaku.

My opinion is that Maria Holic is worth watching if you have nothing better to do with your time, but is over all nothing particularly special. I quit finding nosebleed jokes amusing in 1995.  I doubt I’ll continue watching it after the 3rd episode, but your milleage may vary.

Xam’d is set in a Fantasy world with an anachronistic mix of technologies, Very much in the vein of shows like Orguss 02 and Full metal Alchemist. The overall feeling of the show is similar to the latter though perhaps a bit less bleak.

The main character of the series is Akiyuki a laid-back high school boy living on a small and peaceful island. Unlike nearly all anime protagonists these days Akiyuki is quite likable. Unfortunately his easygoing attitude sets events in motion that change his life forever when he unwittingly helps a white haired immigrant girl sneak onto a bus.

Xam’d is a very character driven show with a great ensemble cast. The animation quality is fantastic. The action scenes are often breathtaking. This show has all the good qualities of BONES‘ previous show Eureka 7 without any of the annoying filler. It is rare in this day and age to be able to recommend a show from Japan without any caveats or reservations but this one I can.

My favorite character in Xam’d is Nakiami. If I were to describe Nakiami in 2 words it would be these “She’s Nausicaa” She flies around on a powered glider that is very reminiscent of Nausicaa’s gull. She is strong, determined and absolutely pure of heart. You might think that would be cheesy, but Just like Miyazaki’s heroine, Nakiami is utterly charming. This is illustrated artistically in the beautiful closing credit sequence where every character is depicted in nighttime stills except Nakiami who suddenly appears flying in the clouds at daybreak. It’s really breathtaking and makes me feel the sense of wonder I used to feel when I watched anime.

The only downside to Xam’d is the release strategy. The show was produced for Sony’s Playstation network where they honestly expect you to spend $3.99 for a timed rental of a single episode. This is yet another sign that the Japanese have NO IDEA what they are doing over here. I will buy this show, but only when and if it comes out domestically on physical media. Watch Xam’d but don’t give Sony the idea that this idiotic rental strategy is good. DO buy the show when and if it hits DVD though.