Endless Eight ends/Cyborg 009 and Peacemaker Kurogane anime

What up anidorks? So the dang “Endless Eight” cycle of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Season 2 finally came to an end last week. Genius or pure cruelty? As always, the final decision will be made on the anime/manga messageboards. Personally, although I admire the originally and post-modernity of it all, one or two episodes of it would have been enough.

If you’ve already dropped the series and are eager to hear the ending, read on ….or skip ahead to the next paragraph if you have a weak heart. Kyon (of course) breaks the cycle by…..asking the gang to help him with his homework. Yeah, pretty underwhelming. I was personally hoping for Kyon to plant one on Haruhi for a little drama, but oh well. Ah, MoHS: wonderful yet horrible at the same time, just like your first psycho girlfriend/boyfriend from college.

In other news, I sat through the 1st DVDs of Peacemaker Kurogane and the Cyborg 009 series from 2001 this weekend. I was pretty underwhelmed by both, I have to say. I didn’t know that much about Peacemaker Kurogane going in, aside from the fact it was “twilight of the samurai”-style shonen action series. Aside from some decent swordfights, it’s pretty unremarkable and the main character (the standard-issue “scrappy, spiky-haired, overly energetic” shonen protagonist) got on my nerves pretty quickly. Granted, it might be worth watching more episodes…but I’m not going to. Sorry Charlie.

I had more high hopes for Cyborg 009, a 60’s era classic manga in its latest anime incarnation. Like most 60’s ephemera, though, I found it pretty dull. I will grant that it was probably more ground-breaking in its day, with a dark edge uncommon to 1960’s shonen manga – or it just might have been better if I’d have grown up with the series. Otaku with an Astroboy/Kamen Rider/Battle of the Planets moe might dig the throwback vibe, but I’m not one of those dudes…

ANIME REVIEW: Parallel Dual

What up anidorks? Once again, personal and work issues have conspired to keep me paying closer attention to my danged email than to the Groundhog Day parody that’s been passing for the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, har har. Still, I have found time to catch a half-baked but not half-bad 90’s mech series: Parallel Dual.

Young Kazuki is deeply troubled by the visions of mech warfare that periodically flash in front of his eyes, a habit that makes him the subject of ridicule in his high school. But when Mitsuki - the prettiest girl in school - invites him home, he finds out his visions aren’t as weird as he though - Mitsuki’s eccentric scientist father Sanada is convinced Kazuki is somehow seeing into an alternate reality.

Naturally, the only solution is to send him there to see if it’s true...and Kazuki, the unwilling test subject, now finds himself in an alternate reality where Sanada commands a squadron of mechs, Mitsuki is a mech pilot, and the mech warfare he’s always feared is an actuality, as Sanada, Mitsuki, and their mechs are the last line of defense against the evil Rara Army's plans to take over Japan. Naturally, Kazuki is drawn into the conflict, and finds himself commanding a mech against a series of increasingly dangerous mech foes.

Pretty rote plot, I know…but the appeal of Parallel Dual is less about it’s pedestrian plot and more for the fact it’s note-by-note parody/satire/rip-off of Neon Genesis Evangelion:

• Crybaby boy pilot? Check.
• Pony-tailed tsundere pilot? Check.
• Spacey girl pilot? Check.
• Doting yet sexy commander/teacher/mother figure? Check.
• Eccentric and bespectacled scientist commander? Check.
• Lithe, stylized mechs fighting monstrous foes? Check.
• Heavy Freudian and biblical allegories? Um….

I have to say that I actually started to enjoy PD’s ramshackle tribute to NGE after a while; hell, there are far worse sources to steal from than NGE. Sure, the plot is pedestrian and predictable, but I found that to be almost reassuring; sometimes the formula is a formula for a reason. Artwise, it’s a mish-mash of styles: NGE-style mechs with characters that look like extras from Tenchi Muyo; likewise, I have to give the creators credit for stealing from the best.

All in all, Parallel Dual hardly wins on style or originality… but once you get used to the lightweight parody that it is, I think you’ll agree that the series actually isn’t half bad (although I'm sure hardcore Neon Genesis fans will be horrified by the blasphemy). There are far better series out there, but Parallel Dual is a fine diversion. I’ll give this one a solid C+.