Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin – 02

My sleeper sense was tingling after the premiere of Mayonaka no Occult Koumuin.  It just seemed like a prime candidate for that “other” slot – the Youkai Apato, Kyoto Teramachi Sanjou no Holmes, et al sort of show that’s literate, easy to enjoy and almost totally ignored.  And I’m pretty much convinced of it after the second episode.  This series is quite good – a really interesting premise, solid writing, top-notch cast and polished direction.  It’s a shame the production values are so perceptibly cheap – and they sure are – because it would be interesting to see this show on a workable budget.

There was an especially personal draw to this episode for me, since the first half of it took place in my old Tokyo neighborhood of Kagurazaka.  Many people hear “Shinjuku” and they think it’s just the station (which is huge in its own right) and Kabukicho.  But Shinjuku-ku is enormous – Kagurazaka is practically the other side of Tokyo and it feels even farther, given how un-Shinjuku like it is.  It’s probably Tokyo’s most Kyoto-like neighboorhood – the sort of winding alleys and traditional buildings you saw here, full of exclusive traditional restaurants and bars and small shops (and even geisha, which Kagurazaka is the only remaining Tokyo town where they still work).  Even Kagurazaka Jinja, just outside the East Entrance of Kagurazaka Station (Tozai Line) made an appearance here.

In Kagurazaka resides Miyako’s family, and the gang from the office (who say “Good morning” when they get to work at 6:45 PM) want to investigate the Abe no Seimei connection.  In his grandfather’s old storehouse Arata finds Yuki, the nekomata who’s been guarding the family histories in lonely isolation for six generations and hasn’t had anyone to talk to since Arata moved out.  He ends up coming with the papers to the office (Arata showed a good heart there), where a crisis is developing.  A kisha, a giant 9-headed – and 10-necked – bird that portends doom and who’s dripping blood excites the anothers.

The being who’s behind the arrival of the kisha has been collecting magical items – zashiki-warashi hair, mermaid sales, fairy dust – for some nefarious purpose that Seo is on the cusp of puzzling out.  He knows Arata too, though he too mistakes him for the original Abeno Seimei – and he’s got an army of zombies cooking in an underground military hospital. Things are ramping up quickly here but I’m quite keen to see what happens next – Mayonaka is doing a very good job of spinning its narrative web.

Gunjou no Magmel – 02

I think it would be fair to say that moral palette of Gunjou no Magmel is definitely painted in primary colors.  In fact if Dororo is shades of grey, this show is very much black and white, at least so far.  But what it lacks in subtlety it makes up for with a certain old-school, Burroughs-esque charm.

This week’s tale finds a scientist at the head of a research lab under siege, as “kare bears” (seriously, that’s a name for the books) attack the lab.  He’s instructed his daughter to seek out Inyou’s help should he ever be in trouble (which implies he pretty much knew he’d get in trouble, so she does – and he’s immediately hostile to her request.  There’s an obvious commentary on animal testing going on here, not that I have a problem with a series calling that out.

The plot itself plays out in fairly straightforward fashion, and a kaijuu called the Scalegorgon shows up to extract some revenge on the corporate private army who’ve wiped out the bears.  But there are a couple of interesting elements to this.  First, Inyou – for all his contempt – does in fact side with the humans over the creatures they’re exploiting, who pretty much all meet a tragic end.  And in fact the scientist had instructed his daughter to seek out an angler called Shuin (at the same address), who we only see in silhouette but was clearly important to Inyou (and perhaps his mentor).  There’s definitely not much subtext to this series, but I’m still fairly interesting in where it’s going with this premise so I suspect I’ll stick with it for a while as a viewer.

RobiHachi – 02

RobiHachi is a good old-fashioned anime screwball comedy, no question about it. Takamatsu Shinji definitely has an aesthetic and this series lands squarely at the heart of it.  There’s certainly a whiff of Space Dandy about the project but it doesn’t appear that this series has anything like the creative ambition that show did – in tone in fact it may be even more reminiscent of Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love!, Shinji’s last series before this one.

There was a bit of a mishmash soup of parody and general loopiness here – Robby and Hatchi combining into “Hizakanger” (which turns out to have been an old black-and-wait anime), Robby’s apartment being something he stole out of his rich dad’s shed, Martian octopi selling takoyaki.  Mars is in fact where most of the episode is staged, with RobiHachi landing there after the ship runs out of gas, which is fortunate as Yang had correctly guessed he was planning to go to “Haccone”, the hot springs planet at the edge of the galaxy.

The conceit of Mars as a failing tourist trap manned by humanoid Martians in octopus suits is a pretty clever one, though I think the gag goes on just a bit too long.  There are some nice individual elements here – the strange tone with Yang and his two henchmen, Hatchi’s addiction to danger, Robby’s general doofusness – but it doesn’t quite come together as a whole yet.  RobiHatchi has a lot if inspiration but it’s not inspired – I want it to be outright hilarious sometimes, and most of the humor falls a couple of steps below that.  But as a love letter to vintage sci-fi anime of multiple eras, it’s a series that holds some interest for me so I’ll give is a fair bit of play in the rope for now.