Review of The Arcadia of My Youth (Anime)

Let’s hop a time machine back to 1982 where we’ll discover that, though anime is rapidly evolving, good anime is not necessarily new anime: 1982 saw the release of The Arcadia of My Youth, a feature film prequel to the popular 1970s anime series, Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Leiji Matsumoto’s* Harlock universe has a gazillion iterations, many of which contradict each other, so for this review, I’m going to treat the film as a standalone, and it stands alone ably.

The story concerns a future in which Earth–among other planets–has been colonized by an alien imperial force. Humans either subsist as second-class citizens under this regime or rebel against it at risk to their lives. Chief among these risk takers is Captain Harlock, a former soldier in the war against the occupation and future “pirate” outlaw. The movie chronicles his movement from disillusioned soldier to honorable rebel leader. Along the way, he gets new companions (notably the engineer, Tochiro, and pirate lady, Emeraldas), loses some old companions, and learns about the wages of imperial domination. The title puns on the name of Harlock’s ship and epithet of his home town on Earth.

Read the rest at the Geek Girl Project.

Review of the BL manga, Cut, by Touko Kawai

Cut is a one volume, BL manga by Touko Kawai (2003). I’m in complete agreement with one review that said it’s generally good but too short to develop the emotional dimensions it attempts to. I recommend it as a quick, one shot read if you like BL.

The story concerns two high school boys, Chiaki and Eiji (both of whose names make me think of other characters), who are quite different personalities but become united through sharing confidences about their respective experiences as victims of child abuse. Chiaki is a rather femme, chatty boy and Eiji the tall, silent type, but they click. Romance ensues, and it’s pretty well written, maintaining a sense of real social interaction between human beings, as opposed to the constant romantic drama so common in the genre.

( Light Spoilers and Commentary )