ANI-MOVIES, *The Great Adventure Of Horus, Prince Of The Sun

Way back in 1968, Studio Ghibli founder Isao Takahata worked on his first full-length movie as a director. Also called Horus, Prince Of The Sun, the Toei anime film was brought over to America by Fred Ladd who had already westernized Astro Boy, Gigantor, and Kimba. Ladd released it in English as The Little Norse Prince, and sometimes with the name "Valiant" added to the title in some releases which must have been confusing to a bunch of comic strip fans. This movie marks the first time that Takahata collaborated with Hayao Miyazaki on a movie which eventually led into their forming Studio Ghibli, making Horus the first unofficial Ghibli production. Takahata specialized in character designs, although a good portion of the animation was handled by Yasuo Otsuka who went on to work on Toei Animation's headliner version of Puss N' Boots. It took about three years to finally complete this feature, something that shows as there is at least one major battle scene is done all in still shots, but there are some amazing sequences of humans fighting beasts.

Centuries ago in Norway, lone young warrior Horus is chased by silver wolves which wakes up a sleeping stone giant. Horus pulls a stone sword out of the big boulder man's shoulder that gives him the title of "Prince of the Sun". The new prince returns home to his father as he is about to pass away in his sleep, but parts the true origins of their family to his son that they escaped from a village that was decimated by the evil sorcerer Grunwald. Horus sets out with his talking bear to find his old village, and then confronts Grunwald who wants to make him his ward which is rejected. Horus comes across the current village that he pledges to defend as it is facing Grunwald's wrath with his nearly endless army of wolves. The valiant prince visits his old village and meets another survivor, the mysterious but beautiful Hilda. The strange girl is secretly Grunwald's sister sent to lull the villagers into being more placid with the power of her enchanted singing. A good portion of the rest of the film contends with Hilda's conflict between being a good person or living up to her evil brother's expectations. This does turn the second half into a tale of morality slowing down the action, at least until Grunwald finally attacks the village with a giant mammoth where the rock monster returns to help in one of the first kaiju fights in an anime movie.

Horus, Prince Of The Sun managed to get made despite the animators' strike that plagued the film's production. Takahata wanted the story to originally be set in northern Japan, but that wasn't permitted at the time, so the plot was instead changed into a Viking epic. Toei wasn't pleased with how the film finally turned out, and only ran it in for ten days in Japanese theaters. Fortunately, Fred Ladd's American distribution helped make it a cult hit among mid-20th Century animation fans. The designs made for this greatly show up again in future Ghibli animation, especially in Hilda's inner struggle. Horus is claimed as being one of the first "adult" anime movies, even though that correctly goes to A Thousand And One Nights which was released a year later. The movie is considered part of the criterion that classic anime is founded by, despite the number of notable flaws its production had.

ANI-MOVIES, *The House Of The Lost On The Cape

Eleven Arts has a good track record at taking non-Ghibli anime movies and giving them a professional English release. While some of their releases are connected to existing franchises like Boruto and Gintama, others such as Penguin Highway and the heartbreaking A Silent Voice manage to pull their own weight among the more well-known titles. Based on Sachiko Kashiwaba's novel, The House Of The Lost On The Cape first came out in 2014 as a book for children about the 2011 disasters that hit Japan which was also the inspiration for Shin Godzilla, although this anime film came out in 2021 as part of a project to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the disaster. The actual book didn't get an English release until fall of last year, but the anime was released in American theaters a year prior to that. The anime film was done by Davis Production who also animated some of the Jojo series, Fire Force, and the recent Urusei Yatsura remake. The best way to describe the film upfront is that it is a less whimsical version of My Neighbor Tortoro where youngsters encounter spirits for the first time.

Just after the Tohoku tsunami, runaway teenager Yui finds her way to a shelter while coming across Hiyori, a little girl whose parents were previously killed in an auto accident and was sent to live with some extended family that perished in the tsunami leaving the poor lass psychologically mute. The two estranged girls get tagged by the elderly Kiwa claiming to be their grandmother. The three then head across the devastated landscape to Kiwa's place known as a mayoiga which is an abandoned house where most of the basic needs of its inhabitants are provided for by helpful spirits which Kiwa calls Fushigitto, or yokai to the less-seasoned otaku. Yui seems skeptical at first to the house's supernatural hospitality, even though Hiyori begins to open up to spirits. Yui does grow to like living in the small town off the coast, especially since she gets a part-time job and a free scooter out of the whole deal. Kiwa introduces the girls to their first physical spirits, a friendly clan of kappa that she has investigate an underwater shrine that was broken open from the tsunami unleashing an evil snake demon called Red Eyes. The sinister spirit was sealed away long ago with the help of the local Fushigitto, but now it's loose again and slowly feeding off the townsfolk's latent negative feelings that were building up from the disaster. The Fushigitto from all over combine their resources to stop Red-Eyes' return, even though it might lead to a horrible sacrifice.

The House Of The Lost On The Cape is already a mouthful of a title for your average American viewer to swallow, but what really kept the film from gaining more success is how Eleven Arts might have billed it as a family feature. There is some serious character trauma, especially Yui and Hiyori's dire family background which prevents the film from ending up next to Hello Kitty in a children's movie lineup. The dub is surprisingly good, with the drawback being that there is no subtitle track given in the streaming edition that lets you know what Hiyori is saying when she writes down her dialogue due to her muteness. Davis Production did a commendable job on the animation, despite the fact that some panning shots go on longer than they needed to, and the entire design of the film completely shifts whenever Kiwa starts a flashback sequence treating it like a dark fairy tale. If you have to watch this film, you would be better off possibly with the physical release of it as you have more of a choice in seeing all the subtitles making for a better viewing experience.

How Anime Influenced My Adventures Of Superman

Josie Campbell began working on DC Comics characters in the Teen Titans Go and Justice League Action animated series. She went on to revitalize She-Ra for Netflix in a new anime-themed series which features a diverse cast concentrating on unconventional relationships. Campbell got brought back to DC a few years later working on a new take of Mary Marvel(the original magical girl!)in The New Champion Of Shazam comic, plus writing the story for some current DC animated movies like Legion Of Super-Heroes which reintroduces the angst of teenage hormones in a sci-fi setting. She then became a head writer for the My Adventures With Superman series which is an all-new take on the Man of Tomorrow’s origin. The animated TV series was first pitched as an action comedy intended for Cartoon Network’s daytime schedule, but it was decided to add a romantic element by focusing on Clark and Lois’ relationship, so it was reformatted to be shown on Adult Swim, even though the first season was merely given a 10-episode run. Josie and her team have seemingly taken a major page out of the anime genre with their approach to presenting the original superhero to the next generation.

The first season played out like a Makoto Shinkai film where they compress an idea which could have filled out the better part of a season with just the initial aspect of the story. A young Clark Kent and his roommate Jimmy Olsen begin working as interns at the Daily Planet along with a fresh Lois Lane. Clark is just learning about his newfound powers and alien heritage while trying to keep it a secret, so he ditches his glasses and wears an outfit he got in his spacecraft. Lois dubs this superpowered vigilante Superman, but soon figures out that it is really Clark which is something that took decades to happen in the comics. This creates a big shortcut in their relationship, along with the two young people admitting their budding feelings for each other. While at the same time, a military division called Task Force X is aware of Superman’s nature after an event labeled Zero Day where an alien army nearly invaded Earth leaving only Lois’s father Sam and Amanda Waller to spend the next two decades preparing for a second invasion. Sam Lane is now a general and doing nearly anything to neutralize Superman, while Waller is secretly doing anything and more to make sure Zero Day doesn’t happen again, that includes using civilians as possible targets to accomplish her goals as well as criminals to flush out Superman. Another large beeline that was made to the plot was introducing the concept of a multiverse where different versions of Lois have taken formed their own secret society to stop any Supermans gone bad, which also prematurely brought Kryptonite into the equation. Yet another plot bypass was gathering an entire crew of DC Comics villains into Task Force X, most of which were never even part of the Superman rogues’ gallery. The best example is taking Justice League enemy Dr. Ivo who created the Amazo robot and have the scientist becoming Parasite with incredible kaiju capabilities. The storytelling is streamlined down for a tight broadcast run that numerous anime adaptations have been subjected to.

The more diverse cast works in the show’s favor. Jimmy Olsen and Perry White are now black while Lois is of Korean descent, plus the Newsboy Legion is the Newskid Legion made of different genders and ethnicities. Some villains from the comics here are misunderstood like The Brain and Monsieur Mallah who are a disembodied brain and an intelligent talking gorilla that are now a gay cross-species romantic couple. Even Mr. Mxyzptlk is remade into a mostly different character with blue skin and pointy ears who in this show is more of a multiversal agent of chaos that fights against the orderly efforts of the Lois League. Lex Luthor is also reimagined as beginning as Ivo’s assistant who would become a major thorn in Superman’s side as a secondary bad guy that rises through the ranks to become an archenemy.

Clark and Lois’ relationship is given a new coat of paint in the manner of a background romance in a standard action anime that is brought to the front as the driving force of the story, making this series both a shojo and shonen-inspired American cartoon. In most past situations, Lois’s efforts were either to boost her reporting career or get her even further into Superman’s arms, but here she is a little more conscious of the world around her and the part she plays in it. Lois also exhibits the generic hypocrisy her character is infamous for when she gets steamed at Clark for lying about his secret identity just a few episodes after Lois herself admitted to lying to Perry White while trying to cover a story of killer robots. The blossoming love of Clark and Lois echos your average high school romance that makes up numerous anime titles while ditching the obligatory additional harem love intertests.

Mecha anime equally holds sway here too. The Parasite suit is clearly a remodeled body armor version of Unit-01 from Evangelion. Brainiac robots are designed to look like something out of Metroid. Even some background robots were obviously borrowed from Gurren Lagan’s torso-themed mecha.

Magical girl shows had an effect on Superman here as they are one of the few consistent genres in anime where a character manages to keep their alter-ego hidden even from those going to extreme ends to uncover them, despite the fact Jimmy Olsen knew about Clark’s secret identity from the beginning. Clark’s first fitting into his blue tights was also reminiscent of a magical girl transformation scene, even if it's only for the one time. All of his powers eventually appear as Superman levels up from each battle also demonstrates a character’s evolution into their role as a guardian similar to your average pretty soldier.

The action on display in this series ascends from prior superhero anime shows like One Punch Man and My Hero Academia that were in turn shaped by American comic books. Superman isn’t on the god level he normally is at in this adaptation, so supervillains with high tech weapons do sometimes end up getting the better of him, even if super-speed comes in handy to not draw out a battle like Goku and Frieza. Superman fights for what he believes in and tries to keep the citywide damage to a minimum, making him mindful of how his powers can attract and repel gawking onlookers.

Superman’s iconography corresponds in this show as well. It is a deconstruction of the superhero, but not in a dark or bloody way featured on recent titles like Invincible or The Boys. Superman stands out here as someone feared by those in power but heralded by those whose lives he saves, which is usually conventional in the realms of sentai hero titles. Your average Metropolis citizen is aware of what lengths Superman will go to save the day, even with the entire population uniting their efforts to help stop a rampaging gigantic Parasite from consuming all the energy in the city.

Even the opening credits look like something out of an early 2010s anime TV series. It reflects some of the last few Gainax productions or slice-of-life titles with the occasional giant robot somewhere in shot.

My Adventures With Superman is the culmination of over eight decades worth of legacy and how that left its mark on anime in general, as well as how it comes back to the source with this Man of Steel being given a bigger emphasis as a bishonen with superpowers. What the second season has in store for the never-ending battle is yet to be seen, but don’t be surprised if you see a couple more Dragonball homages as it goes along.

Fisher-Price's Weird X-Ray Man & Woman

 

ANI-MOVIES, *Jiang Ziya

Being the second chapter in what has been labeled the "Fengshen Cinematic Universe", Jiang Ziya is a follow up to Ne Zha, both of which are based on the Fengshen Yanyi book of Chinese folklore from the 16th Century by Xu Zhonglin. The prior movie of Ne Zha became the highest grossing animated movie made in China with Jiang Ziya earning its spot as the second biggest seller. Originally titled Legend Of Deification in China, Well Go USA released it under the name of the main character. Whereas Ne Zha was more of a comedic fantasy, Jiang Ziya is a high fantasy steeped in mythology and Taoisim. There was a live-action movie about Jiang Ziya that came out just the year before, but it suffered from bad special effects while the fully animated adaptation is a stunning depiction of Chinese legends.

A fox spirit possesses the body of the consort of the Shang dynasty's emperor and causes the three main realms to unite to defeat the wicked demon's plans. The main hero of the war, Jiang Ziya, is given the task of executing the fox spirit in front of the council of gods, but he notices the consort's innocent soul inside and refuses to kill her as the demon escapes. The gods banish Jiang for the next decade to a desolate wasteland along with his thunder-punching assistant Shen Gongbao and a junior deer/dragon pet called Si Bu Xiang. Jiang comes across Xiao Jiu, a young orphan girl with fox ears that everyone else thinks is connected to the fox demons. Jiang and Xiao head pass the borders of the outcasted lands to find answers to the pointy-eared girl's origins. They run across the Shang dynasty emperor now remade as a deity who recognizing that Xiao is original soul of his former concubine that the fox spirit consumed. After taking a trip to the heavens and getting information from the Master spirit, Jiang learns he must take Xiao taken to the Gate of Resurrection where she can be reborn free of the fox demon's spirit. After Xiao enters the Gate, the fox demon breaks it open and frees all the other fox spirits that were killed during the war which was all a plan thought up by the Master god to unify all the nations against a singular enemy. The Master tries to cover this all up by sending a giant guillotine to smash the swirling mass of fox spirits which Jiang and Xiao are caught up in. Jiang severs the stairway to heaven to leave humans to decide their own destiny free of the gods, and years later all the main characters get reincarnated. In a post-credit scene, Jiang in the heavenly realm has dinner with Ne Zha from the prior movie establishing the thin connenction between both films.

Jiang Ziya is a breathtaking saga with outstanding animation. The dub is fine with anime voice actor Chris Sabat as the title character, even though the translation doesn't make it totally coherent with where the plot is supposed to be going. There are some heartfelt deaths in this but considering that reincarnation plays a big part in it, the demise of each character is void of any real consequences. The dub is available on free streaming channels like Tubi, so it's no real sacrifice checking out one of the best Asian fantasy animated movies of all time.

ANI-MOVIES, *Wish

To celebrate their centennial anniversary, Disney thought that doing one big session of circle jerking was long overdue. Wish is a bloated display of egotistical entropy that was just a revarnished clip show with a plot that normally would make for a feature that would barely cover 25 minutes. Planning for this wreck had been going on for over five years prior to its release, but even given that amount of time with a majority of Disney's "talent" working on it and the company's vast finances to back it, Wish was not worth it. The animation quality is not that much better than what was done for Tangled over a decade before it, so you would be better off just watching that on Freeform instead of wasting your time and money on overpriced theater tickets for. This self-gratuitous exposition of Disney's legacy of course also had to be a musical as well, and the songs are about as memorable as a case of terminal amnesia. Wish's more diverse cast helps keep the company's trend of trying to appeal to a wider audience other than just middle-class Americans, even though it also works against it as you're not really given any context if this is supposed to happen in the real world, or at least a fantasy version of it. The movie tries to begin like a standard Golden Age Disney movie with a storybook opening up, but it's all downhill from this point on.

Ages ago in the Mediterranean lies the island kingdom of Rosas ruled by the supposedly benevolent sorcerer Magnifico who accepts the wishes of his people with the promise of granting someone's wish once a month. A young lady called Asha is on his staff and is interviewing to be Magnifico's new assistant, but instead uncovers the secret he's been hiding from the citizens for years to gain their unconditional trust that he covets their sealed off wishes. Asha goes to wish upon a star which actually comes down from the skies as a living little smartphone icon that starts to work its own kind of magic by giving animals the ability to speak. The star referred to as Star helps Asha realize that she should try to free the wishes from Magnifico's grasp. The corrupt leader knows about the fallen star and plots to take if for himself to gain even more power. The rest of the film is a series of bad musical numbers and rotating characters as Asha tries to liberate the kingdom's wishes. The movie gives no real effort to understanding if Magnifico's original intentions slowly turned him bad from using dark magic, or if he was always a power mad despot.

Wish is an incomplete chain of events that was strung together with an impulsive need for Disney to show off their hugely animated catalog spanning nearly a century. The supporting cast are just copy/pastes of previous Disney characters, not to mention the entire royal staff is just a reincarnation of the Seven Dwarves. Asha is a boring Disney princess-type without really being a princess, and her whole story is nothing more than an origin story for a fairy godmother. The villain's motivations seem to change at the drop of a hat, constantly being in flux as to whether he wants his people's loyalty or if he just keeps getting crazier from dabbling in dark magic. Very young children might be slightly charmed by it at first, but would forget it once they get old enough to realize that movie is just one big mess. I've seen jumbled mockbuster rip offs that were more coherent than Wish. The movie is a wild goose chase totally void of anything endearing and not worth the effort on either the creators or its intended viewers.

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