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Photon
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Title Info
- seen: 1-7 of 7
- type: OAV
- grade: worthy
- made: unknown
- Review created: Recently, but I didn't record the date.
- mod: none
This is a very strange anime. Fortunately it is an enjoyable strange anime, but even so. It is also interesting because it is by the creator of Tenchi, and various influences are obvious, although it feels more like a bunch of creative people just letting their imaginations run free. The core of the story concerns a backwards desert planet at the `unfashionable' arm of the galaxy. On this planet is the somnolent but awesomely powerful photon earth. Woken to carry out the 47th recovery of his flighty sister he re-awakens an alien woman on the run who had been in suspended animation. This in turn wakes up those who chased her, restarting a mysterious conspiracy that brings powerful forces to bear on this minor planet.
However the story can wait for some of the most intensely over the top physical comedy and character interaction yet seen in anime. The various characters, from the sleepy, laid back, simpleton photon to the various insanely energetic females and the `dashing' overly dramatic villain seem intentionally designed for fun scenes to emerge. The humor and energy, well supported by the production qualities, are so impressive that they need to be seen to be believed. Backing this up is very novel world and technology design (as shared by Tenchi) which makes the world believable and interesting. In addition the background plot is quite serious and, despite the characters being distracted in their feuding with each other, continues to advance. This leads to a fairly dark conclusion in the last 2.5 episodes which is a shocking change of ambiance even though the foundations for it occuring are relatively solid. It is possible to say that this conclusion is a bit rushed, but this may be a measure of how much happens in the last episodes. There is also quite a lot of adult humor and nudity in this anime, a lot of which is from the male villain, and some violence but it is well integrated and not terribly offensive.
As mentioned the production is classy, unique and very well adapted to supporting the characters. The action is bold, the character movement complex and the scenes delightfully scripted and choreographed. The movements of the characters, the design and expressions and the dialog are very rich and skillful. At times it almost feels like a competition between the animators as to how much character that can express in every scene. This anime goes well beyond such things as SD mode and into a realm where visual appearance is simply another expressive element. In general the production values, voices, and integration of various elements is very well done, albeit in a very unique idiosyncratic manner, as if this were an experimental piece. On the other hand the high energy humor and physical energy does reduce the subtlety of the characters and the sense of `reality' in the anime, which may be a limiting factor on this anime. Still, a very interesting experience, and something that must be seen to be believed.
Words by Andrew Shelton, Web by Ticti, Last Compile: Wed Aug 5 12:39:23 WST 2009