Oats Studios - Cult Series Review

I do love a good anthology series. The idea of many little stories, based on an overarching theme, always appealed to me as if you didn't really like a story another one would soon be up and it might be more your cup of tea. I've watched many series including much of The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark? as well as the BBC series such as Ghost Stories for Christmas amongst many other 70s horror anthologies and I can never get enough.

When I first heard of Oats Studios I was excited as it was be started by Neill Blomkamp, writer and director of District 9 as well as a few other cult films. The aim of the studio was to distribute short experimental films with the aim of seeing which would be viable for fuller projects. It's a great conceit and I like the idea of an amuse bouche with the possibility of more if there was interest.

So, over the course of a couple of days, I watched the entire run of 10 episodes. Here's my synopsis of each episode and my opinions.

Rakka
When an alien invasion by telepathic anthropomorphic reptiles destroys most the Earth and it's population, a small rag tag team fights back. They find Amir, a human who has been experimented on by the aliens. He gets a chance to help the resistance and does so in the inevitable showdown with his new abilities. Will it be enough though?
This is a down and dirty resistance sci-fi film with a lived in world presented. The story is engaging and the potential for lore and backstory is huge - a lot is achieved in just 22 minutes. Sigourney Weaver is riveting in this and adds some gravitas and pathos to proceedings. The setting is well realised and the potential to see where the story would go is intriguing.

Firebase
Set during the Vietnam war, a lone American soldier lost from his party, heads into the jungle where, rather than fighting the Vietcong, he battles against an alien that take the form of humans. When he is found by a military superior he is airlifted into an area of interest where he is told he must battles the River God, a Viet farmer who the CIA consider the embodiment of the Devil.
The short film starts off like a found footage film from the time, all shaky cameras and overaaturated colour from film negatives yellowing with age and popping and fizzing with time. It then turns into a more modern slick production but set in the 70s. The story reaches a crescendo as the unit gears up to do battle. The story is very videogamey and intriguing.

Cooking With Bill: Damasu/ Prestoveg/ Smoothie/ Sushi
Looking like a late 80s/ early 90s shopping channel bit, Bill and Karen try out new gadgets but it all seems to go terribly wrong.
This is darkly humourous as they catch the time period just right and the jargon used to shill the products like 'thermo capacitor' is spot on. The gadgets are crap and Bill comes a cropper each time. The cartoon interstitial between each product is unnecessarily bright and cheerful on purpose to contrast with the darkness of the consumerism theme.

God: Serengeti/ Chicago
This shows a cruel God who watches us from above. He has a butler and is bored so he creates issues like starting fires to see what the people on Earth will do.
This is a good episode as it shows humans are just the playthings of a cruel and unknowable god. The butler Geoffrey listens to his master but he doesn't always want to carry out the psychotic orders he is given.

Zygote
A couple of survivors at an Arctic base try to make it to Alpha base but are stalked by a mysterious creature. One of the survivors, a female synthetic, leads her blind human superior but struggles as her programming dictates her protocols.
This starts off quickly and sets the mood straightaway. The premise of getting from A to B is film 101 but the moody setting and atmosphere is very The Thing or Alien. The premise of a mining company cracking open a rock and unleashing a dangerous force is very Dead Space and very effective. The creature reveal of a hulking mass that amalgamates various bodies into one whole is impressive. It's all very effective as the claustrophic atmosphere of the place, with its red lights flashing and the shadows, is well realised.

Bad President: Oil Spill/ All My Sh*t
These two shorts show an incompetent American President as he tries to reassure the people of his country about some sad news but really he can't be arsed and wants to just party.
This is definitely a political episode as it shows a terribly incompetent man being in charge of the country and using it for his own gain.

Adam: Episode 2
A prophet of sorts leads a robot exodus out from The Consortium's hands as he reveals that their brains have been taken as their bodies are all that is needed to serve in the subservient role.
Starting at episode 2 makes this intriguing as you have to piece together what you think might have  happened. When the history of one of the robots is revealed, it sets up the rest of the story. The CGI animation is very good and you can see Blomkamp's skills as a director.

Adam: Episode 3
A fake-prophet figure asks a woman to destroy a robot, her once human brother, whose soul has been taken. In return, she is blessed and able to remove her mask and breathe the usually toxic air without any repercussions.
The reveal of the machine inside the prophet is surpsiring and well animated. I love the dramatic music as it swells in its denouement.

Gdansk
A group of mech knights in white attacks villages, killing men, women and children. We see the leader and the existential crisis he seems to be suffering.
This episode has a gorgeous design and the attention to detail on the landscape is stunning. As it is very brief, this was the story I couldn't get a handle of properly but it feels a bit Star Wars-y.

Kapture Locust
This starts off like a handy cam proof of military concept design video and shows the dystopian future that can happen when scientists are given unchecked resources and power.
I like the style of the film as it plays like a cutscene in a game just before something goes wrong, very Half Life. They seen amiable enough but they commit horrible violence upon their test subjects - prisoners who want their sentences commuted.

I loved this series as there were a veritable smorgasbord of ideas. Not every episode connected with me but I'm sure every viewer will have their own opinion on what is the best and isn't that the best thing about anthologies?

Haibane Renmei- Cult Manga Series Review (As Well As Some Reflections and Thoughts)

I recently wrote a retrospective about how manga and anime had been an integral and formative part of my youth and teenage years. It wasn't just the zeitgiesty and cult appeal of the shows, although there was plenty of that for hipster-like credibility, but it was more the way the medium made me appreciate the wider world and the innumerable questions I had about my place in it.

Sure, there were certainly existential shows like Evangelion, which deeply made me think about various aspects of faith and philosophy, but my absolute favorite anime of all time is a bit of a forgotten hidden gem—it's Haibane Renmei. This unique series offered a beautifully woven narrative that resonated with themes of redemption and self-discovery.

This particular series holds a deeply special place in my heart and always will. Discovering it, as I did in the early 2000s, felt like a true revelation during a time when I was grappling with an existential crisis—an experience common amongst many young adults suddenly thrust into the uncaring and cold job market after years of comfort and routine provided by the education system. The story and art by Yoshitoshi ABe was unlike anything else out there and the muted colour palette really stood out to me.

Rakka, a young Haibane, emerges from a cocoon in the mysterious ‘Old Home’ in the village of Glie . She has a delicate halo and, after a Cronenbergian body horror scene, sprouts small gray wings, but has no memories of her past. Named after her cocoon dream of falling, Rakka learns to navigate the strange town while following the strict rules that keep the Haibane from leaving their walled town. As time goes on, Rakka and the other Haibane worry about the mysterious disappearances of their kind on the ‘Day of Flight,’ as they know little about their fate or future. What follows over 13 episodes is a character study on community, grief and, ultimately, salvation.

The series is a complex combination of slice of life anime, mixed with some body horror and then a large sprinkling of existential questions that have always plagued us all our lives. On one hand I hate that it doesn’t get talked about as much as other series. On the other I’m glad it doesn’t because it feels like this special little piece that you have to actively seek out or just stumble upon. It’s definitely an experience and every time I revisit it I am moved by it even if I can't eloquently articulate why.

For anyone who is a Fumito Ueda fan of games like Ico, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian, I feel like they would appreciate this series because the stories are told in a similar manner in the way that they don’t tell you all the answers, you feel like you are given a tiny glimpse into a wider world with lots of lore you aren't party to. Also the music is down by the same composer, Kow Otani, and it is just phenomenal. The series also introduced me to the works of Haruki Murakami, whose Hard Boiled Wonderland apparently inspired some of its story.

The hopeful rather than nihilistic nature of the show really appeals to me - the early 00s anime ennui has not aged too well with many other series but with Haibane it is hope that has kept the show alive in my, and many others', heart. The idea to do better and be better is something that people can get behind; it makes you contemplate life and the human condition itself and that is something very special indeed in this late state capitalist hell scape we find ourselves in. 

Finally, I have some thoughts about the series and wanted to share them. I have done it in a stream of consciousness way as I can’t articulate it all in a cohesive way with a though-line just yet. I am processing it and, as each year I read more and learn more, the meaning and symbolism are fluid for me:

  • The journey of Reka over the course of the series is touching as her self-loathing leads to her looking for redemption.

  • Asking for help, and recognizing that it's okay to ask for help in the first place, is something we can all struggle with. Reka embodied that struggle beautifully in the latter half of the series.

  • The haibane are all named after their dreams and whilst we do not know what their dreams mean I know some interpretations online see it as the method of their death or suicide; Kuu from floating in the air (jumping off a building) , Nemu from a deep sleeping (sleeping pills), Kana from floating in a river (drowning), Hikari from dazzling lights (electrocution) and Reki from small pebbles on a moonlit path (hit by a train).

  • The Day of Flight is when Haibane ascend or pass over. It should be a celebration but can be tragic for those left behind as they are left mourning the loss of a friend.

  • The crows are like psychopomps or harbingers for Rakka as they foreshadowing, signal and signal key events that occur. Whilst Rakka is depressed after Kuu's flight she is guided by a crow to the Western Wood and undergoes a transformation whilst stuck in a well. It reminds me of the story of Toru in Haruki Murakami's Wind Up Bird Chronicle, where the well acts as a physical manifestation the subconscious mind.

  • The Sin-bound are the Haibane who have black or dark spotted wings or who do not remember their cocoon dreams. But one who recognises their sin has no sin - this is the circle of sin as explained by the Communicator.

  • Rakka goes through talk therapy with the Communicator who helps her when she gets out of the well but is lost in the Western Woods.

  • The Bell Nut Festival is a way to commemorate the end of the year by giving thanks to those who have helped you over the year. Reki reconciles with her frenemies at the Old Warehouse but still feels alone and abandoned. She succumb to her loneliness and her quest for self-annihilation manifests in dramatic fashion but only by trusting  in the power of her relationship with Rakka does she realise that she has changed the world for the better by existing within it- she is and never was alone. All she needed was to ask got help.

  • The fact that this anime was talking about the powers of talk therapy and Salvation years before it became mainstream blows my mind and makes me incredibly happy. It is a wise anime that only gets better with age in my humble opinion.