Hammer House of Horror- Cult TV Series Review

I have been a film aficionado for a long time. My father brought me up on classics like David Lean's adaptations of Oliver Twist and Great Expectations as well as the various black and white classic comedies of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. However I became interested in cult TV series and films whilst attending university. Our campus was media-centered and as a result it had a huge catalogue of videos to rent, free of charge. I ploughed through many often taking the maximum 8 out at a time and consumed them voraciously. As a result I believe that I am quite literate in films and TV but the series that really attracts me are the more offbeat curios.

I've explained my love for old creepy films here before and it is in this vein that I wanted to explore Hammer House of Horror, the 13 episode anthology series which was shown on ITV in the early 80s. I had never seen the series before so thought I'd dive in. What intrigued me was how the 50 minute short films were shot in the style of the times rather than the usual Hammer fare that had been famed over the previous couple of decades. The provinciality of it all recalls Minder or the kitchen sink melodrama Play for the Day rather than glamourous Dracula, Twins of Evil or the more desperately lustier affairs that precipitated the studio going into receivership.

The series was the idea of Roy Skeggs and he wanted to create a grittier, more realistic (and cheaper) horror that blended slice of life with the supernatural or eerie, a modern gothic if you will. Local problems for local people. The result is an interesting time capsule that captures the fashion, sensibilities, technology and dour mood of the time. By doing away with the 'genre crap' that Hammer had helped to create and codify, it prevents the series from being the usual campfire stories or folklore and turns it more into urban legends or friends of friend tales- a much more horrifying prospect as there were definite social messaging contained upon it's release in the early 80s.

The series tweaks the 'tenets of genre' to create something all together more interesting. Anyways, here are my thoughts on the individual episodes:

Witching Time
On a dark and stormy night, whilst home alone, married man David finds a beautiful woman in his barn claiming to a witch from the 17th century. Thinking her a kooky eccentric, he humours her before locking her in a room and calling for a doctor.
Upon arriving, the witch disappears and the doctor thinks David is overworked and hallucinating. He gives him some stronger pills but the witch comes back and starts to wreak havok upon him and his returning wife. Things quickly go downhill as we don't know if David is self-sabotaging or if there actually is a witch who has a hold of him.

This is an interesting episode as it is quite meta in that David is the sound mixer for horror films and he is being haunted himself. The slow deterioration of his mental health as the witch takes hold is interesting to see. It's a pretty solid episode and had me intrigued throughout.

The Thirteenth Reunion
When a new dieting clinic seems to be getting astonishing results, a roving reporter goes undercover to investigate the secret of their success. She sees a tough love affair where people are insulted into 'thinking themselves thin'. She bonds with a fellow 'fatty' but when he unexpectedly dies after a road accident her suspicions are raised as this seems to be happening quite regularly.

This episode goes some places and what I initially thought of as some body harvesting scam definitely ends up something much more sinister and weird. The tension is cranked up all the way through and the ending is not what I expected at all.

Rude Awakening
When an estate agent is given a property to put up for sale, he visits it but gets more than he bargained for when the manor is a state of ruin. What follows is a weird mystery about a recurring nightmare and whether the agent is losing his mind or maybe his subconscious is suffering from guilt from the murder of his wife.

Denholm Elliot shines as a cocky cockney everyman estate agent who ends up getting himself caught up in a bit of a mess when visiting the property. He plays it well, sliming it up with his young secretary in various states of fantasy attire as he tries to work out what is going on. The ending is typically dark and catches you off guard as dreams and reality merge.

Growing Pains
A young boy dies after trying some of the growth formula that his research scientist father is using on rabbits to end world hunger. A short while later, the parents adopt an orphan who has a rabbit toy and an interesting personality. When visions of the dead son appear and the pet dog starts to behave strangely, the parents question their sanity.

This is a quirky episode as the boy who eats the medicine is dopey. I mean, who goes into their father's scientific lab and scoffs strange liquids and powders from a random jar on a shelf? The boy is about 10 years old so should definitely know better. Anyways, the replacement boy plays a slightly creepy role well and the setup is intriguing. The story goes place you would not think it would go and that keeps you on your toes.

The House That Bled to Death
When a young couple and their daughter move into a house, little do they suspect that their house was the scene of a gruesome murder some years ago. As they try to bed in, unsettling things seem to be happening around them... almost as if the house wanted revenge.

This is a solid episode with lots of shocks and scares as the tension slowly escalates. The blood flows generously but, once again, the episode goes to a different place.

Charlie Boy
When a friend dies, a photographer and his friends get a chance to rifle through his things and take souvenirs home. When the photographer takes an African fetish doll, known for being used in witchcraft, people start to die. Will he make it in time before his wife and he succumb to its dark power.

This is a great episode about the power we give objects. Is it the fetish or is it the paranoia and coincidence of it all? This episode is great and it was wonderful to see the young familiar face of Angela Bruce as the wife of the photographer. The relationship between the interracial couple was loving and they treated each other like equals which was surprisingly more sensitive than what I have been used to from shows from that era. Fair play to the show for doing that.

The Silent Scream
When a habitual petty thief is released after two years inside, he finds a job at a local petshop run by Peter Cushing. When tasked with feeding the trained exotic animals he keeps at the back whilst he's away, the thief tries to open a safe and is caged. Will his wife help him get out or will the thief be trained to curb his thieving ways.

Cushing is excellent in his role as a mad scientist who looks at creating a prison without walls. He is seemingly sane and his idea has merit in principle but at what cost to civil liberties and freedom?

Children of the Full Moon
After their car careens out of control, a young couple find themselves out in the sticks in the late afternoon. They find refuge in a creepy old country house in the care of an old lady and loads of orphan children. As the night draws in, the sound of wolves can be heard and the children start to act strangely. Whatever can it all mean?

This is a great episode with Diane Dors camping it up as the old lady of the creepy manor house. This is considered one of classics of the series and is so highly regarded due to the gothic feel of the mansion, creepy woods and quite good makeup work.

The Carpathian Eagle
When a series of men are murdered, with their hearts ripped out, an old legend seems to be bubbling to the surface. A police officer and a murder-mystery author try to get to the bottom of the serial killers crimes on this short thriller.

The central conceit of this episode is great as it plays out like a crime procuderal but has the obvious supernatural elements, much like Kolchak: The Night Stalker. This episode was a firm favourite of mine as there is a great central mystery.

Guardian of the Abyss
When an antique dealer comes across a scrying glass his world is turned upside down as satanists and an escaped sacrificial victim cross his path. When his scrying glass- which may have been Dr Dee's original one- is stolen, he goes on a hunt to find it and save the glamourous sacrifice at the same time.

It's an intriguing episode as the poor guy just wants to flip the item to get some moolah but he's caught up in a demonic mess involving Enochian, Choronzon and Aleister Crowley. Fascinating stuff with a dramatic and powerful ending.

Visitor from the Grave
When a rapist is killed by his prospective victim, his body is concealed to hide the crime. However, as she struggles to reconcile her life  with the crime she slowly starts to unravel as she sees the face of the rapist in her everyday life. Maybe a Swami from India can help, for a high fee of course.

This is a slow burn episode as the action happens right at the beginning and it's all about the trauma and unravelling as the victim goes all swiveleyed and anxious. This episode is not very sensitive at all but it isn't as egregious as much other media from the time- the portrayal of a woman who has gone through a traumatic experience isn't very sensitively handled whilst the brown face of the Swami is pretty racist but this was par of the course for the time and should be considered through those optics. Thank gosh things have moved on somewhat and we live in more enlightened times.

The Two Faces of Evil
When a family on a country drive pick up a hitchhiker during a storm it doesn't go well as he attacks the family. Waking up in a hospital the family try to get back to normal but life is forever changed. The question is: has the hitchhiker gone for good?

This is an excellent episode as the sense of  claustrophobia is achieved through tight and unusually low camera angles. It disorients you as you watch the episode and even the staff at the hospital look sinister from that angle. It's quite an achievement on such a low budget. The concept of a doppelganger is intriguingly covered in this episode and the chase at the end suitably dramatic.

The Mark of Satan
When a novice who works in a morgue is accidently pricked with the bloody neddle of a corpse who claimed to have been protecting his soul through self-drill applied trepanning, he undergoes an interesting transformation. He starts seeing patterns everywhere and is worried that there is a conspiracy against him.

I liked this episode as the number 9 is a recurring motif and occurs frequently throughout. I wonder if the creators of Inside Number 9 were inspired by this particular episode as they do cite this series as a foundational text within their ouvre.

Overall, I really enjoyed this anthology series. I can see how it has influenced many shows including Inside Number 9, Black Mirror, The League of Gentlemen and The Mighty Boosh. It's a quirky series that looks at the evil that lurks beneath the normal veneer of polite (and not so polite) society.

The series can be pretty bleak and I think a lot of it is to do with the way it represents an empire in decline. Britain held much of the world in its grasp for hundreds of years and the stripping away of this worried much of society. This anxiety brought fears of class, eugenics and 'replacement theory' to the fore- maybe that's why so many of the shows of the time are to do with class, a structure that very much exists in Britain but many will deny whilst claiming that we live in a meritocracy. Looking at the sorry state of current politics puts paid to this veneer as vestiges of this illusion are removed-as  it was in the 80s when this show was create and aired.

The cultural vandalism, misappropriation and bastardising of certain principles, values and societal narratives are things that happen all the time. One only has to look at social media with its 'the way things were' photographs of yesteryear to see the guise of nostalgia wrapped in right wing anemoia. Read the comments to see the vitriol spewing forth. This show looks at the worries and concerns from the time and amplifies them through the lens of horror.

The OA- Cult TV Review

Brit Marling is an indie darling who, after having cut her teeth on the chin-stroking Another Earth and Sound Of My Voice, has always chosen intriguing roles that make you question yourself and was unafraid to ask the big question. When I heard that she had written and starred in The OA on Netflix, I was excited but then sadly learned that it had been culled after two seasons. I wasn't sure if I should invest in a show that didn't have closure but, after continuous rave reviews from publications and pop culture people I respected I thought I'd take the plunge. Boy is this series a wild ride.

The OA concerns the return of kidnapped teen Prairie Johnson, who returns home after 7 years away. During that time a miracle has occured and the once blond girl can now see. She adapts to life in the outside world with the media scrutinising this miraculous turn of events but she has a mission to save the others who were trapped with her at the hands of a crazy man. By forging friendships with 4 other people, she narrates her life story which features near death experiences, a mad scientist and multiverses. The question throughout it all is: is this all true or is she an unreliable narrator or mythomaniac?

The first series has a great ensemble cast that are a bunch of misfits, even the Principle says that as a social anthropologist he doesn't get the dynamic but that's what makes this series to interesting. Everyone has their own issues they are dealing with: the stoner who is struggling to look after his family after their mother passes and dad is nowhere to be seen, the Valedictorian with a substance abusing mother, the lonely middle-aged teacher who lost her addict of a brother and the rebellious bad boy. The story is intriguing and keeps you guessing throughout and whether Marling's OA (Original Angel) is a figure of good or a delusional false prophet is open to interpretation right up to the end.

The second series changes tack and starts off as a police procedural with a Vietnamese girl going missing in San Francisco. As a P. D. investigates the case he comes across a videogame where he must solve riddles using augmented reality. It's nearly 30 minutes before we see OA but she's her alternate world Russian version, the one who wasn't adopted and cared for by the parents in the first series. It throws the whole series on its head and you anticipate the moment she reconnects with her group of misfits from season one.

As a fan of Twin Peaks, The Prisoner, Evangelion, Haibane Renmei and many other cult television shows as well as movies like Pi, The Fountain, Mr Nobody, Donnie Darko, Three Colours Red, The Double Life of Veronique, Memento, The 12 Monkeys and The Second Coming and books like House of Leaves, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and The Raw Shark Texts, I can say that this series was most definitely up my street. It mixes cool sci-fi elements with wobbly wobbly timey wimey stuff with a slight dash of interpretive dance.

There are some great actors in here and the ones I recognised from other work include the amazing Riz Ahmed, Zendaya, Jason Isaacs and, my favourite actress, Irene Jacobs. They really give the series a sense of prestige and present an acting masterclass. Jacobs is an extremely shrewd get as in her role as Veronique in Kieslowski's masterpiece, where she plays a double role as characters who are connected without knowing how and why, seems to fit in with her character of Elodie who states she has travelled to different dimensions where she played actresses who had roles that considered the human connection. Very meta indeed and I doff my cap to Marling and Batmanglij

The show covers a lot of ground including ethics in science, madness, the nature of reality, near death experiences, Afrofuturism, anime style tentacle stuff, Lovecraftian eldritch elder gods, and so much more. The fact that it remains pretty cohesive and compelling way is a testament to the creators and writers, Marling and Batmanglij. Sure, we may never get to know what was intended in the overarching narrative as some of these threads will likely never be resolved but that's okay as what we have is a worthwhile transcendent journey worth taking. The highlight for me me was season 2 episode 5, The Medium and the Engineer which turns the episode into a mystery box as OA and Karim try to figure out the truth about a creepy gothic style puzzle mansion. It had elements of gothic horror, Control and PT-style creepy corridors and mystery puzzles and House of Leaves non-Euclidian geometry.

For me, the show has elements of ecstatic truth. Werner Herzog equates ecstatic truth very much to the sublime which allows us to experience moments of enlightenment through deference of truth to truthiness... it just feels right even though we know it's not. It not lying but rather the feeling gets to the core of the message. I find this with David Lynch and his ouvre; the stories he has to tell don't always have to make sense but he gets to the spirit of good and evil, right and wrong, light and dark.

I'm aware that this series will definitely not be for everyone but I personally like the bold vision it has and the conviction of telling a story in such a novel way. I am gutted that the show ended on such a cliff hanger and broke the 4th wall but man was it a trip!

LINK- Twin Peaks: The Return Series Review

LINK- Secret History of Twin Peaks: Book Review

LINK- Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier Book Review

LINK- The Midnight Library and the Idea That You Can’t Go Home Again

LINK- Ulysses 31 Retro Soundtrack Review

LINK- Blood, Sweat and Pixels- Book Review

LINK- The Offworld Collection- Book Review

LINK- Shadow of the Colossus- Book Review

LINK- Japan: My Journey to the East

Innsmouth

The algorithm can be annoying as you get thrown loads of stuff in your filter bubble that is tangentially linked to something you once looked up by accident. I think mine is still recovering after my youngest daughter got on my laptop and started to look up Teeniepigs (check out the opening credits- it’s pretty bad) as I still get loads of bad CGI animation clips with questionable voice acting in my feed.

Occasionally thought, the algorithm throws you a bone that is so very you and that is what happened this time with Innsmouth.  A classic H.P. Lovecraft tale given a Japanese twist by Chiaki Konaka, the writer who would go on to write the cult classic anime Serial Experiment Lain? Yes please! Where have you been all my life?

I didn't even know this TV movie even existed until it popped up on my feed but diving in blind was blown away by how me it was.

A travel photojournalist, Hirata Takuyoshi, heads to Innsmouth to see if there is a potentially untapped holiday spot in the making for his travel magazine. He discovers a quaint old fishing village which seems to have fallen into state of disrepair. The locals are unfriendly and he struggles to find anything redeeming about the village, until he meets a beautiful widow. They chat and kiss and things are going well but when Hirata discovers his used camera rolls taken and the local police unhelpful maybe the town is working against him. It all comes to a head one night, during the festival of Lord Dagon, when Hirata must escape from the village with his sanity intact.

The setting of Japan seems like a perfect fit for the story as many of the coastal fishing villages have been abandoned by the youth who have headed to the big cities, leaving behind the older generations. A sense of decay pervades the show and adds a feeling of otherworldliness to proceedings as our protagonist explores the port, museum, and local sites.

The music of Zbigniew Preisner, with his title score from The Double Life of Veronique, complements the film as a man struggles for his life against eldritch beings of which he has no knowledge.

For the budget of about a fiver, this hour long made for TV short film is effective and well worth your time.

My Dry January (February, March and Most of April Too).

I love books... more than music, videogames, comics and any other of my media based hobbies. I think this may surprise many people who know me.

Whenever I go out, be it a holiday, day trip or even a small walk somewhere, I always take a couple of books with me; you never know when it will come in handy as there could always be a (in)convenient time where I need to fill time. Books are a huge part of who I am and the way I am. By reading we connect to others and create ‘memes,’ Dawkins’ idea of how we spread units of information such as values, customs, traditions and ideas.

The combined collective history of the world, the knowledge and wisdom thereof, is contained within books whilst stories allow me to experience places I may or could never visit. Terrestial or offworld, I can travel through time or space to the past or future. I can be a difference race, species or being- the possibilities really are endless.

I've always loved libraries, their peace, the smell of old books (I recently learnt that this is called biblichore- what a great word!) and the atmosphere they give... wonderful. I've always loved reading and read voraciously in my youth and formative years. As time has passed and my free time- truly free time away from work and family commitments- has become squeezed I've used my Audible audio book subscription as a crutch to keep up to date with my reading habits. In this way I've read loads of books but nothing beats actually holding a real book, finding a comfortable spot and losing yourself in the text for hours on end.

Time is finite though so I have to be picky with what I consume but not everything is gold. However, in some ways, even the lowest common denominators, the 7/10 books if you will, offer an insight or idea that remain long after you have put the books down.

I read I Am (Not) a Prisoner: Decoding The Prisoner by Alex Cox about The Prisoner TV series and it gave me insight into this confounding cult phenomenon. Talking about confounding, I read Twin Peaks Unwrapped by Ben Durant and Bryon Kozaczka about all of the Twin Peaks series. I loved revisiting one of my cultural lodestone and its breakdown of season 3, Twin Peak: The Return, was excellent at letting me parse that ending. I very recently finished a fascinating deep dive into The OA by David Sweeney. The short book was like a longform essay (just over 100 pages) about the show and I finished it with a whole list of new texts and media to check out. The same was the case for the Hideo Kojima book of essays, The Creative Gene. Finally, I love the artwork of Yoshitaka Amano and reading his beautiful biography was a real treat.

Audible wise, I've listened to over 40 hours of audio books. I started the year with Fern Brady's autobiography Strong Female Character and learned a lot about masking and how ill equipped schools were to deal with such a wide spectrum of need. I also finished Werner Herzog's memoir/ autobiography/ Stream of Consciousness/ Philosophy book Every Man for Himself and God Against All and man do I love that man; his creativity and the way he speaks about the human condition are unparalleled, in my humble opinion. To plug a knowledge gap, I listened to Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture by Ytasha L. Womack which presented a world of hope and aspirations, free from the legacy of slavery and subjugation. The Ark Before Noah by Dr. Irving Finkel was a fascinating listen about the origins of the Ark myth and his journey through the Mesopotamian cuniform tablets is carefully detailed. Finally, I listened to one of my favourite writers Johns Higgs’ I have America Surrounded and learnt a lot about counter-culture figurehead, Timothy Leary.

Anyways, we are at the mid-stage of May as I write this and, even thought my pile of videogame shame is huge, I've enjoyed taking some time out to read and catch up with my favourite hobby.

Mermaid's Scar- Cult Manga Review

Rumiko Takahashi might be better known for her quirky comedies and romance tales but her Rumik World series showed her sharper, horror tinged edge. Her Fire Tripper run in Manga Mania was the first complete manga series I read and I purchased quite a few of the OAV adaptations from the Rumik World anthology series including Fire Tripper, Laughing Target and Maris the Wonder Girl.
One of the Rumik World films I had not seen but had read a bit of was Mermaid's Scar. I had picked up a grab bag from my local comic shop and it contained an issue of Mermaid's Scar comic in it but this was not the whole run. I'd only read this one comic and wanted to read more but never found any other issues. Also, I don't think the film was released in the UK. Setting out to right this wrong (and to gain closure after nearly 30 years), I sat down to watch it alongside it's companion piece Mermaid Forest. This is my review for Mermaid's Scar as I have already reviewed Mermaid Forest before.

Whilst doing some research about the film, I found that Mermaid's Scar is one of the many tales that makes up the Mermaid Saga. The series apparently ran sporadically in Japan and the premise is based on the Yao Bikuni, or Happyaku Bikuni legend, where eating the flesh of a mermaid will grant immortality or turn you into a terrible monster called a 'lost soul'.

The series follows Yuta, a young man of about 18 years old, who eats the flesh and is thus immortal. He seeks a way to gain his mortality whilst undergoing The Littlest Hobo or The Incredible Hulk TV show style adventures where he helps people before moving on in his quest.

In Mermaid's Scar, Yuta is joined by Mana, a young woman of similar age and affliction. In this OAV, we are not told how they met but they pass each other off as siblings and travel together.
They meet a young boy, Masato, who is travelling alone to meet up with his mother who lives in a mansion on top of some dramatic cliffs overlooking the ocean. The pair find work at a local building site nearby and see that the relationship between the boy and his mother is terse and abusive. Is there more to this ralationship than meets the eye? Well, when a Lost Soul turns up I'd say yup!

This is a darkly violent OAV with its fair share of blood including someone being shot, piano wired, tied in barbed wire, stabbed with scissors, strangled and then potentially beheaded with an axe. So yes, this isn't (or rather IS) very much your grandpa's Takahashi. The tale is about the perils of losing your humanity when you live forever and  Masato comes across as a real price if work, selfish and self-centred, like any 800 year old 10 year old would be.

This OAV is well animated and the music really sells the mood. It's a shame we didn't get more of this series in the West as I would definitely have invested in it. If you have a spare 50 minutes, this manga is well worth your time of you like twisted little horror films.

I'm now hoping to watch the 2003 Mermaid's Scar series and see if that is a more complete offering of the saga.

LINK: Fire Tripper- Cult Manga Review

LINK- Akira Soundtrack Vinyl Review

LINK- Monster City- Cult Manga Review

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- The Offworld Collection- Book Review

LINK: Manga Exhibition at the British Museum

LINK- The Midnight Library and the Idea That You Can’t Go Home Again

LINK- The Transportive Nature of Objects (And the Power of Mini Consoles)

The Imperminence of Games (and why GAAS is a fallacy built on sand)

'Look upon my works, ye mighty and weep in despair. ' And so goes the poem Ozymandias by Shelley. It is the boast of a megalomanic Ramesses II who thinks his glory and works will persist forever, an immortality of sorts. Of course, a few centuries later his works are in ruins as they have been pillaged by other empires and he is barely remembered, apart from a bit part in The Ten Commandments film where he is played brilliantly arrogant by Yul Brenner and the impressive temple complex near Luxor, the Ramesseum. Shelley was writing about the impermanence of everything and I only wish more people in the upper echelons of the games industry would pay attention.

I was lucky enough to visit Abu Simbel in 2011 and can say that it is a very impressive monument to greatness.

Across time, many have sought glory- fame or infamy. There have been great rulers, despots and dictators who have sought to use the power of the profane and divine to create reverential works that they hoped would be like Ozymandias'. No matter how much many studios try, this has not come to pass for the vast majority in the digital videogaming space. Whereas before people create great physical monuments or arts praising their achievements, now game studios spend much more money, time and effort to carve up a bit of immortality- at least for a short while- in the digital space, only to realise that their works are ephemeral and will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Be it consolidation, downsizing or shuttering there is a real problem happening in the videogames space. Some studios are even shuttered within a few short months after spending hundreds of millions of pounds on a product, even if it was well received and award winning.

Most of these studios are closed… even after releasing successful game.

Games As a Service are looking for a part of this immortality, they look to be monuments in our life that we interact with daily but there is a flaw: time is finite so not all GAAS can or will succeed. Instead, what games should look for is immortality through greatness like Doom, which has been ported to manner of devices including calculators, or any manner of Nintendo titles that lack backwards compatibility and so are always sought after. Their greatness is ported across generations and lives on, like RE4 or Skyrim. Who wouldn't want that for their title?

The digital real estate business- which is what this is- as whole world's lore and mechanics are created, costs more than some of their real world counterparts but will obviously lack their permanence, being a digital space rather than an actual physical space.

Some studios are aware that their works cannot withstand the ballooning costs of development and are limited in their scope and aspirations, a moment in the sun for a while to support their next moment in the sun maybe. However, for those who place their entire fortune and future at the foot of their one and only hope, there can only be heartbreak as not all succeed. This is what we are seeing as this unsustainable risen in costs is leading to huge cuts across the board and consolidation across companies as they all seek to carve up a piece of the stagnating pie that hasn't seen console install base growth for a while.

We'll see what happens but, as a guy who likes the big AAA titles as much as the next person, maybe reign the costs in a bit by removing the bloat, 'roadmaps' and carved up games which I still in you the need to buy the DLC to finish the experience!

LINK- Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- Mysterious Cities of Gold Season 3 (English Dub) - Complete Series Review

LINK- The Midnight Library and the Idea That You Can’t Go Home Again

LINK- Manga Exhibition at the British Museum

LINK- The Golden Voyage of Sinbad- Cult Movie Review

LINK- The Transportive Nature of Objects (And the Power of Mini Consoles)

LINK- My One True Gaming Constant in Life- Nintendo

Solar Ash- Videogames As Art

I’ve just finished Solar Ash, a visually stunning and kinetic action-adventure videogame from Heart Machine studios. The game mixes a horcrux-like finding exploration of different biomes before culminating in Shadow of the Colossus big boss battles. The game has a fluid protagonist who skates along and does some fantastic gymnastics.

The 8 hour gameplay loop is addictive and looks spectacular when running. Here are some screenshots of my playthrough.

Somna: A Bedtime Story (for adults) - Graphic Novel Series Review

I have loved Becky Cloonan's artwork since Demo and By Chance Or By Providence, which I have a signed copy of. I had a chance to meet her several years ago at Orbital Comics in London and she was wonderfully gracious as she signed the graphic novels and several of my Gotham Academy books. I also have a signed print from her and, which my wife isn't a fan of as it looks quite emo, but I love her gothic horror influenced style which is sexy and exciting.

When I heard that Cloonan was working with another artist to create an erotic gothic horror book I was in. At the time, I was not aware of Tula Lotay but, having read the Somna series, I really do appreciate her painterly ethereal style which complements Cloonan's extremely well... It really is a dream team.

The story of Somna is quite simple: In an English village in Stuart times, around 400 years ago, a young woman named Ingrid is married to a sexually repressed witch hunter. Whilst he is constantly on the lookout for witches and kills many women, Ingrid is left with repressed desires that manifests in nightmares. Her childhood friend Maja, a strong and independent woman, supports Ingrid and helps her as best she can but the Shadow Man from Ingrid's nightmares seems to be gaining power and influence over her. Can Ingrid survive the paranoia of the era and prevent herself from being cast as a witch?

Somna is a very effective read as it carries the themes of much folk horror; a person who is not a part of the community finding out about the horrors that exist within the community. What makes Somna so interesting is that Ingrid, the protagonist is from the community but doesn't feel like she is a part of it as she has suppressed desires as her husband is not fulfilling his husbandly duties so she is repressed. This creates a space for a darker force to exert its influence over her. The story of female subjugation and abuse by the patriarchy is an old one but the backdrop of the witch trials is a good one as it looks at how society blames the powerless and weak through methods of social control.

I loves the 3 part comic series as it is stunningly beautiful with lyrical layouts that make you swoon over the artistry on show. Cloonan takes the lead on the main scenes but Lotay's dream scenes complement the work as they oresnrt the Shadow Man gaining in power and influence over Ingrid.

The story is powerful and incredibly erotic but in the best possible way. This is definitely for adults but is tasteful and classy in its erotica - think Company of Wolves, Midsommer, The Witch or The Witchfinder General (which they cite as influences)  rather than Urotsokidoji and you'll get the idea. This book is a big recommend from me.

The Power of Dungeons and Dragons.

Over many years, I've heard many videogame developers and designers talk about how Dungeons and Dragons helped influence their game design philosophy. I've read with interest but have no grounding in this as I have never played a D and D game in my life, despite owning the game for over 25 years! I bought it on a whim on one of my many shopping trip to Forbidden Planet in London as I’d heard so much about it, especially during the Satanic panic that swept across America.

Over the subsequent decades, I've heard much more about it through the various pop culture podcasts I have listened to, hearing the hosts talk about their formative years with the board game and then, of course, through Stranger Things where it gained pop culture traction.

My only context in my youth was the cartoon and the various shops I saw, as well as the Dragon Lance book series I read as a tweenager. Anyways, here's my D and D complete box which had never been played and I hope to organise a game as I have a board gaming group here in Devon who I play Ticket to Ride, Brass and Eclipse with on occasion. A friend informed me that my set might be worth something as they change the ruleset quite often so there's that I suppose.

Maybe I'll get my crew into D and D... We'll see, eh?

The Rise of the Niche Book Scene

The physical books industry went through a torrid time in the 90s with many independent shops closing due to multiple factors. Competitors offering discounted books, supermarkets selling at a discount and the burgeoning online marketplace all ate their lunch and so the industry seemed in terminal decline, especially within niche interest books. However, something truly amazing has happened in recent years as small, niche publishers have been able to create a business for themselves by selling directly to their consumer or by being able to more easily reach their audience through targeted marketing online. It's been amazing as over the past few years I've contributed to a few Kickstarters or crowd funding projects to purchase books on such niche interests as diverse videogame essays (Offworld) and the animation of DIC (creators of series such as Mysterious Cities of Gold, Inspector Gadget and Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors).

Book publishing has evolved and, whilst it can't beat the experience of browsing a well-stocked bricks and mortar store, I appreciate that all tastes can be catered for.

This has faltered somewhat as in late 2023 (which will date this article) there has been a huge rise in paper and energy costs. The closing of pulp mills, rise in energy costs across the world and the slow economic rise post-Covid has had a knock-on effect but I foresee things settling and things getting better. Now, excuse me as I tuck into my book about the series The OA.

Mermaid Forest- Cult Manga Review

Rumiko Takahashi might be better known for her quirky comedies and romance tales but her Rumik World series showed her sharper, horror tinged edge. Her Fire Tripper run in Manga Mania was the first complete manga series I read and I purchased quite a few of the OAV adaptations from the Rumik World anthology series including Laughing Target and Maris the Wonder Girl.

One of the Rumik World films I had not seen but had read a bit of was Mermaid's Scar. I had picked up a grab bag from my local comic shop and it contained an issue of Mermaid's Scar comic in it but this was not the whole run. I'd only read this one comic and wanted to read more but never found any other issues.

I found this comic in a grab bag and it was the only one in the series which I had.

Doing some research, I found that Mermaid's Scar was one of the many tales that made up the Mermaid Saga. The series apparently ran sporadically in Japan and the premise is based on the Yao Bikuni, or Happyaku Bikuni legend, where eating the flesh of a mermaid will grant immortality or turn you into a terrible monster called a 'lost soul'.

The series follows Yuta, a young man of about 18 years old, who eats the flesh and is thus immortal. He seeks a way to gain his mortality whilst undergoing The Littlest Hobo or The Incredible Hulk TV show style adventures where he helps people before moving on in his quest.

I saw this on shelves bu never got around to buying it or watching it at the time.

In Mermaid Forest, the prequel, Yuta and Mana, who are of a similar age and suffer the same affliction of immortality, are drawn into a terrible situation when their power is sought by an evil woman named Towa. She was half-turned into a 'Lost Soul' by her sister many years ago. Mana's life is in danger as Towa wants to know why the mermaid's fleshes power doesn't work for everyone and wants a head transplant!

This is a very effective story as we get the back story of Yuta and see how he became immortal with a flashback, taking in the horrific situation of his fishermen friends all dying. Throughout there is extreme violence as Takahashi is not squeamish at all with liberal use of gore.

This OAV is well animated and is very evocative if the era with quality framing and artistry throughout. The music is dramatic and complements the scenes well but it's the foley work, with all the squelching, slopping about of blood and slapping that really sells the horror.

The tale of revenge is well done and it's a shame we didn't get more of this series in the West as I would definitely have invested in it. If you have a spare 50 minutes, this manga is well worth your time of you like twisted little horror films.

The Laughing Target- Cult Manga Review

I do love the works of Rumiko Takahashi and her Rumik World anthology series. Her Fire Tripper run in Manga Mania was the first complete manga series I read and I purchased quite a few of the OAV adaptations including Fire Tripper but also the adaptation of a curious one shot comic adaptation called Laughing Target. The cover was suitably sinister in this short horror tale and back then I had no idea what it would entail.

The cover of the film is quite dramatic.

This OAV holds a special place in my heart, even if it isn't even close to being creator Takahashi's best work. It is arguable what is but it's probably a toss up between Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkokou, Ranma 1/2 or Inuyasha but back then I didn't know any of that. All I knew was that this was an edgy horror anime featuring a fight to the death with bows and arrows. Looking back now, I can see that it is about trauma and how we process it.

The story outline is pretty straightforward: During her childhood, a young girl named Azusa goes missing. She encounters something sinister in the woods and comes back different- changeling style. When she turns 6, Azusa is betrothed to her cousin Yuzuru and they are set to marry when they are grown up. Fast forward 10 years and Yuzuru is a confident archer with groupies and a girlfriend, Satomi. When Azusa arrives, keen to keep to the promise, Yuzuru's world is turned upside down as malevolent forces seek to ensure Satomi's end and the union of Yuzuru to Azusa.

Laughing Target is an effective short horror film.

Laughing Target is well worth a watch as it stands the test of time as an intriguing horror OAV with enough chills to still genuinely unsettle. Rather than just a stereotypical evil shrew, the film elicits sympathy for Azusa, a survivor of abuse at the hand of three boys as well as an isolated girl by her eccentric and overbearing mother. The latent powers of summoning the ghosts of death when she is angry or scared seems understandable under these circumstances! The promise to her betrothed kept her anchored but when she sees that he has given his heart to another, and assaulted her in defence of his love Satomi , it triggers memories of past abuses and untethers her. It is quite powerful but I hadn't read it like that 30 or so years ago.

Rumiko Takahashi might be better known for her quirky comedies and romance tales but her Rumik World series shows her sharper edge. Laughing Target is a well done story, presenting difficult concepts at a time when they were often poorly represented.

The film is well worth 50 minutes if your time. Also, stay for the credits as it ends on a downbeat note that will linger long in the mind.

I Am (Not) a Number: Decoding The Prisoner- Book Review

A short while ago, I finally saw the entire 17 episode run of The Prisoner. It was the first time I had seen the show and viewing it with no nostalgia attached, I could still see why the series had maintained a cult status. Like Twin Peaks, of which I am a huge fan of, the more one delves into the quirkiness, lore and theories, the more one appreciates what was done. It has clearly inspired many shows including Lost, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The X Files and so many more.

It is a singular show and it's tight episode run has kept it evergreen by avoiding the bloat and repetition that plagues a lot of series.

The series is now seen as cult with its allegory of socio-politics, but it was a prime time show when it was initially released. I don't know how Patrick McGoohan managed to get funding for it as it is so ahead of its time yet of its time; the Cold War was alive and well and the fear permeates this singularly psychedelic and Kafka-esque show with some real world analogies. However, it also embraced the Summer of Love with its fashion, crazy carnival of colours and The Beatles' All You Need is Love.

The show sure goes to some odd places and it can be difficult to parse what you have just seen, so a book promising to explain the key takeaways sprinkled across the episodes as well as a grand theory intrigued me enough to buy it.

Alex Cox gives a brief overview of each episode (in the order in which they were shot) and dissects aspects of them which builds to his grand theory or decoding if you will.

The book is slight but it does capture the zaniness and kookiness of the show well, showing how McGoohan created a vibe without necessarily spoon-feeding the audience with an ending that neatly tied the solution in a bow. Instead, what we get are little clues dotted throughout, which, if considered as a whole, makes sense and is cohesive. I agree with Cox's final analysis and also agree that the ending is rather obtuse but decodable if you consider the show as a complete tapestry with a overarching design that takes in the geopolitical situation of the time as well as the space race confirms my views too.

The book is a good read and enjoyable as a companion piece whilst watching the show.

Gunsmith Cats- Cult Manga Review

I knew of Gunsmith Cats from seeing it on shelves at a premium price at my local comic shop as well as in Forbidden Planet in London. However, I had read the series in the pages of Manga Mania once its Akira run had finished. I never watched it at the time but recently had a chance to catch the entire 3-part OAV run, so with a couple of hours free, I watched it and had a blast!

The opening credits are stunning and remind me of the late 70s/ early 80s cop show credits with lots of pop art, triangles and rectangles floating across the screen slowly to jazzy music... très cool.

The show feels like a loving homage to police procedurals from the early 80s and captures the vibe of that genre very well.

There are three episodes, all covering the main story of a gun running gang and their shadowy superiors. In the first episode, Neutral Zone, the Gunsmith Cats are roped into helping the ATF (Bureau for Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) break up a gun running racket. Rally and her friends, bomb expert Minnie May Hopkins and lawyer Becky Farrah, are caught up in a grander scheme that they know little about. This is a great introductory episode and the shootout is well choreographed, capturing the tone of the genre very well with scuzzy warehouses, badly dressed hired goons and lots of dramatic gunplay; it reminded me tonally of the best pulp crime fiction like The French Connection, with the fun staged set-pieces of Beverly Hills Cop and the  amazing kinetic gunplay of John Woo and Hong Kong action films.

The second episode, Swing High, sees an ex-KGB agent now assassin trying to collect the bounty placed on the Gunsmith Cats' heads. A riveting car chase follows as Rally tries to rescue May in a car chase reminiscent of The French Connection or Bullitt. It ends on a high as the assassin is seemingly killed but tis not to be.

The third, and final episode, High Speed Edge, sees the return of the assassin as she tries to finish off Rally and May. The conspiracy of the gun runners goes right to the top and it's an exciting finale with lots of explosions and huh stakes.

Throughout the series, the dynamic between Rally, May and Becky is great. It's like an all-female Lethal Weapon or Die Hard without a lot of the problematic casual misogyny that exists in many films from the era- don't get me wrong, some exists but it's not too egregious. The dynamic and rapport between these strong leads is palpable without sinking to the lowest common fan-service denominator. Sure, there is a break-in at night and the women are in their nightwear and a top is torn during a warehouse gunfight but it's not gratuitous in that there is no nudity and Rally takes it all in her stride.
Also, in episode 2 there is the threat of sexualised violence as a group of bad guys say, "Maybe we'll have a little fun before we kill you." However, considering the time it was created, it has not aged too badly at all as this was a common trope which been slowly phased out over time.

I know that there are a few more problematic elements in the graphic novels but the animated series does not seem to contain any of these from creator Kenichi Sonoda original manga. I vaguely remember the manga from Manga Mania and can't remember anything too troubling but I may be wrong, it has been 25 years or so!

Anyway, the level of detail and love shown towards Americana accoutrments, guns and cars is brilliant and, if that's your thing, it's very well represented here.

Overall, Gunsmith Cats is a brilliant anime and well deserving your time.

DIC: Series Of Our Childhood - Book Review (And Some Thoughts)

I have a huge amount of affection for the animation of the 80s, some of my most formative years in terms of developing my interests. I was (and still am) a huge Mysterious Cities of Gold fan, which I found out was a specific style of animation called anime, and that became a huge part of my life for the following 20 or so years. For me the series had it all; relatable characters, amazing adventures and a thrilling story line. I found out much later that the series was only 39 episodes long but back then it seemed to stretch on forever, like Dogtanian and Willie Fogg; all large sequential series that showed on BBC 1 and ITV weekly and then in large chunks in the morning during those looong summers. Other series I loved were Ulysses 31, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors and Heathcliffe- all series produced by DIC. The name sticks because, well, it's DIC and in England it means something very different from Diffusion, Information and Communication.

Over the years, I've collected all these series on DVD and Bluray boxsets and have reviewed them right here on this website (links to all below). So when I heard that there was going to be a crowd funded hardbacked book on the history of DIC called The Series of Our Childhood I knew I had to get in on that. The book, which is written in French, by Maroin Elausti and Nordine Zemrak, is beautifully produced with good quality paper stock, excellent print quality and clear images, many of which I have never seen before. Now, my French is very GCSE from nearly 30 years ago so it is poor but I used Google Translate and read the entire book this way. It's not the most convenient way for sure but it worked well enough.

The book is pretty comprehensive as It looks at how DIC started out making short commercials for private companies and the French government before moving onto short form animation then moving on to longer animated series.

Ulysses 31

The first big ticket animation for them was Ulysses 31. I first came across the show when it was first shown in the mid 80s on the BBC but I saw it in my formative years again in the early 90s on Channel 4, where it was shown daily at 6:30, just before the Big Breakfast. I remember thinking how cool and ahead of it's time the animation was but the moody, evocative and exciting synthesizer soundtrack complemented the show well... heightening the sometimes very dark cartoon well. I had fond memories of the series as a child and rewatched it in my youth, collecting the DVD boxset when there was an 80s nostalgia fueled goldrush in the early 00s. Since then I've collected the soundtracks but have never really known much about the creative process behind the series; it's for partially for this reason that I purchased this book.

  • Creator, Jean Chalopin, decided to tap into the zietgiest created by Star Trek and Star Wars and wondered what the world would be like in the 31st century; would racism, classism or poverty still exist? By placing Ulysses, a hero known for his cunning and metis (the application of skills and knowledge in different situations) in to this futuristic world he could explore the cosmos and the different scenarios within.

  • Chalopin explains, "Our reasoning was as follows: during Antiquity, the Mediterranean Sea remained immense and partially unexplored for the Greeks. It was as mysterious as the Universe to us today. Means of transport were as limited as those we have today to explore the Universe. So, if we project the Odyssey into a Star Wars type universe, we obtain Ulysses transposed to the 31st century, lost in space... During Antiquity, the Greek hero was an extraordinary being, thanks to his exploits which elevated him to the rank of demi-God.'"

  • The idea that the ancient Mediterranean Sea was a wild and unexplored place, much like space, and thus created a wide canvas for Ulysses to adventure in is the insight I was looking for.

  • Additionally, learning that the cryosleep curse of the companions by Zeus in episode one was a choice made out of financial constraints makes sense. By having fewer characters to animate, it created the appropriate tone and focussed in the central conceit of saving his companions.

  • Later we learn that the co-production between DIC and TMS, Japan was due to the stronger animation house infrastructure in place there that would allow the animation to be of a stronger standard and keep the costs significantly lower. TMS also wanted to build its reputation abroad as it often was outsourced for animation but had never co-produced a series. Rene Borg, who designed the original characters, didn't want to compromise his vision so refused to collaborate with his Japanese counterpart and so was replaced by Bernard Deyries who created the animation style we all know and love alongside Shingo Araki (designer of Saint Seiya and Goldorak). Sci-fi writer Philippe Adamov and François Allot were the world builders and created the machines and environments for the series. When fellow Chief Director Nagahama died, Bernard Deyries became the sole Chief Director.

  • We learn that the series had some teething issues, usually related to differences between the French and Japanese cultures. Ulysses is a key figure in the West and is proto-Heroes journey what in Japan he is an unknown figure. The push and pull between fights and wiles caused tension as the French wanted to show him being clever and philosophical whilst the Japanese wanted more action, battles and robots. It's more complex that thia sounds but these were the general divergence between the two studios. Shoji Kawamori, creator of the mechs and ships used in Macross, helped design the spaceships and fighters in Ulysses 31. Nono, was not his design but Borg's, however the design was tweaked to make it more childlike and cute.

  • The show was composed of between 9000 to 12000 cels as well as several computer techniques to add depth and layers like space and star fields. The show was a huge success in France but less so in Japan. The Odyssey book by Homer became a huge seller that year in France and revived an interest in the Classics amongst the French students.

  • Jean Chalopin met composers Ike Egan and Denny Crockett through the Osmond family over dinner. Over two weeks, he worked with them to create over 100 tracks and selected ones he wanted to use for the show. Haim Saban and Shuki Levy were asked to create the now iconic opening credit music.

  • DIC worked with Bandai to develop a toy range and the products were best sellers.

  • The series has a lasting legacy in the West and is affectionately remembered.

The Mysterious Cities of Gold

  • MCOG was first shown on the Antenna 2 channel in France on 28th September 1983 but the show started off following the success of Ulysses 31, Marco Polo and Belle and Sabastian. NHK wanted a story based on the conquest of the Americas but it wanted a literary foundation and to be able to create informative documentaries after the show. Mitsuru Kaneko (MK Production) found Scott O'Dell's The King's Fifth by chance and met him to secure licencing rights. They agreed that the story could be changed to make it more appealing to younger audiences.

  • NHK approached DIC and Jean Chalopin to collaborate with as they had a lot of credit with the release of Ulysses 31. Even though it was not a smash hit, it sent shock waves across Japan on how productions could be collaborative.

  • The first several months of production were spent on creating the Bible for the series. The series had been a more straightforward adventure story under the Japanese team but the mystical elements, such as the Hiva/ Mu civilisations, the Jade Mask, the solar power design of the Solaris and Golden Condor were placed in on insistence from the French team.

  • Mitsuki Nakamura was the lead background animator and produced the detailed backdrops that made the world come alive. There were sometimes more than 250 different backgrounds used in a single episode.

  • Studio Pierrot did the animation and was headed by Yuji Nunokawa, a Tatsunoko alumnus, and Mitsuru Kaneko, a journeyman who had worked for Toho, MGM and the MK Company.

  • Hisayuki Toriumi, the Art Supervisor, said that when she was developing the characters she wanted to create a group with no leader. Mendoza is the most complex and compelling as the audience don't know who's side he is on throughout. She wanted to keep audiences guessing until the end with Mendoza's moral ambiguity.

  • Toshiyasu Okada was the Lead Character Artist and worked with DIC to create an agreeable ensemble of characters. The character designs were altered to appeal to more Western sensibilities and animation styles so the eyes became rounder and the chins less pointy. They didn't want an issue selling to certain markets like they'd faces with Ulysses 31 and NHK agreed. Okada also worked alongside DIC to make the 'evil' characters look less evil, a sensibility that arose in manga where it is obvious who the bad guys are. This nuance was tricky but he understood how, 'A monks clothes do not make him a monk.'

  • A major sticking point between the French and Japanese was the soundtrack, they could not agree and so each did their own version. Deyries thought the soundtrack needed to breathe and add an air of wonder and mystery. He listened to Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds soundtrack and wanted that sense of drama and gravitas. He hired Haim Saban and Shuki Levy to produce tracks and, out of 60 to 70 pieces, chose 50 that would be used on the show.

Inspector Gadget
There follows an extensive Inspector Gadget piece which looks at the creation, based on an idea by Andy Heyward, who had previously worked at Hannah Barbara. Using Heyward's experience of the American animation marketplace, an area in turbulent times in the late 80 and early 90s, DIC were able to create the idea of the bumbling Inspector Gadget in pretty quick time.

  • The pilot was given a healthy budget and animated by TMS but the rest of the 65 series episodes were created by Nelvana, the Canadian animation company who had worked on the 10 minute Star Wars Holiday Special animation, TMS and a Korean company. It was up to the Japanese team to ensure consistency across all teams.

  • The series aired on 24th October 1983 and was a great success.

  • The second season of 21 episodes was not as successful as the budget was cut, Penny's role diminished and the Gadget jokes becoming more hack.

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors
The next big piece for me was the Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors section which didn't reveal much new except that the toys were designed first and the cartoon after. Additionally, J. Michael Straczynski wrote on the show and even wrote a downbeat finale which was never produced as the toys didnt sell enough to warrant a 64 episode syndication run.

Overall, this book is essential for DIC fans as it gives a pretty good overview of their genesis to closure. I'm pleased with the book as it goes pretty deep into Ulysses 31 and MCOG and those were what I wanted to investigate. There are plenty of other series, all of which I read through too, but I’m glad that the series that were formative for me were covered in so much detail. Any classic animation fan should definitely get this book!

Robot Carnival- Cult Manga Review

I do love me a good old anthology series, they are short and if you get bored you only have to wait a few minutes for another episode to come on. Additionally, you avoid the bloat and filler as with each episode being self contained and everyone has their own opinion on what one is the best.

I had heard of Robot Carnival, it was described as a manga Fantasia which is very high praise indeed, but had never seen it. I sought to acquire a way to watch it and I finally managed to and I do have to say that it is indeed a tour de force of Japanese animation from the 80s.

There are 9 segments, each with their own story and director.

1: Opening by Atsuko Fukushima and Katsuhiro Otomo, has a barren post-apocalyptic village in the desert being barrage by the Robot Carnival. Fireworks, bombs and explosions ensure as the village is destroyed as the carnival makes its way onwards, ever oblivious to the suffering it has just caused.

2: Franken's Gears by Koji Morimoto has a scientist create a robot. He is pleased with his creation and teaches it to move only for it to turn and kill him.

3: Deprive by Hidetoshi Omori is like an awesome anime music video in which a young woman is taken by an attacking alien army. Her friend, a cybernetically enhanced boy, take the fight to the aliens and aims to rescue her against a backdrop of a large scale alien army.

4: Presence by Yasuomi Umetsu is about a married but unfulfilled inventor who creates an automaton. The automaton falls in love with the inventor but he destroys it as he can't love it back. Years later he regrets it as she still haunts his waking dreams.

5: Star Light Angel by Hiroyuki Kitazume is a tale of two friends who go to a robot themed amusement park. When one friend goes to meet her friends boyfriend she realises that he is a cad who gifted her a star necklace. Heartbroken she runs off, meets a robot who falls in love and tackles an evil robot. It all ends well as the girl and boy start to date. Totally weird but cool.

6: Cloud by Mao Lamdo is a beautiful short that features a robot boy walking and the background around him changing into wonderful surreal landscapes before he ascends to the skies.

7: Strange Tales of Meiji Machine Culture: The Westerner's Invasion by Hiroyuki Kitakubo takes us back to the early Meiji period and features two mechs fighting it out in their wood and cogs runs machines. It is a war of attrition as the mechs destoy that which they set out to protect.

8: Chicken Man and Redneck by Takashi Nakamura has a mech destroying the city by converting electrical machines into heinous machines which take over the land. It reminds me of A Night On Bald Mountain part of Fantasia in that the creatures all slowly march in time to the music and raise merry heck.

9: Ending by Atsuko Fukushima and Katsuhiro Otomo features the giant Robot Carnival coming to rest on the dunes and crumbling as the credits roll.

The music by the legendary Joe Hisaishi is sublime and adds much to panoply of creativity here. Some of the stories are fun and throwaway whilst others will haunt you long after you watch it. This is an amazing cultural artefact of a time when Japan's bubble economy was riding high and shows a confident and strident people making boundary pushing art. I'm glad to have seen it and I'm sure you will be too.

The Creative Gene by Hideo Kojima- Book Review

Hideo Kojima is a videogame auteur, famous for creating the Metal Gear series as well as Death Stranding. He is quite a singular voice and his games wear their influences on their sleeves, from Snake in Metal Gear being an homage to Snake Plissken from John Carpenter's Escape From New York to the Diamond Dogs being a link to David Bowie's alter ego to even more esoteric references from various pop culture influences. To have a series of short essays that has the man talk about his influences as well as they became a formative part of his oeuvre is fascinating.

I have only played a few of Kojima's games but he casts a long shadow so I know a lot more about the man and his works than I normally would any other creative in my area of interest, even if only peripherally.

What you get here is a series is well written, eloquent essays which act as short form reviews about what makes the work so fascinating and formative. A lot of these pieces were written in the wake of the 3/11 earthquakes that devastated Japan so are rather wistful and timestamped but the main themes Kojima covers remain ever potent. There are many pieces but I particularly enjoyed his thought on these few:
- Woman of the Dunes by Kobo Abe, which I read in my teens and found strangely compelling, had me thinking about what we value in freedom.
- Inherit the Stars by James P. Hogan makes it sound like an impressive sci-fi with a intriguing central puzzle-box murder mystery which I have placed on my 'Wish' list.
- The Drifting Classroom by Kazuo Umezz is a Lord of the Flies type book where an earthquake separates a school from the mainland. Teachers and students break into factions as the social bonds that bind us snap. Kojima compares this dystopian vision with what occured on 3/11.
- Columbo: Publish or Perish was a novelisation of an episode from the first season of the show. Young teen Kojima picked it up on the way home from tutoring and it was the book that ignited his passion for reading.
- 2001 Nights by Yukinobu Hoshino attracted Kojima as it was a hard sci-fi manga that made him feel brave and strong. I own and have read the comic run and loved it.
- Blade Runner was a formative film for Kojima and is one of his top 10 films. He saw it as a teen and it blew his mind. When there was a re-release in cinemas to celebrate its 30th anniversary he felt ecstatic to be surrounded by fellow fans.
- Space Battleship Yamato was a revelation in Japan at the time and when the movie was released on the day of Kojima's father's funeral, he saw it in memory of him (not on that day, I mean that would be a bit wrong probably).
- His favourite film is 2001: A Space Odyssey and his favourite band is Joy Division.

What I found surprising is that he does not mention John Carpenter or Escape From New York... an oversight, surely.

Overall, I enjoyed the book as it offered a fascinating look behind the curtain, now I'd like to see a similar book by Swery (creator of Deadly Premonition) and Suda 51 (Grasshopper Manufacture). I don't really fancy one about Ken Levine though as I think I've got his influences figured- Ayn Rand. Called it!

Anyway, my reading pile of shame has just become a lot bigger but that's no bad thing when what I am reading is so thought-provoking.

Monster City- Cult Manga Review

This is a bit of the throwback and was considered a bit of a classic back in the early days of manga in the UK. Alongside Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s Wicked City and Ninja Scroll, we had the Cyberpunk Collection, Dominion Tank Police, Vampire Hunter D, Crying Freeman and Doomed Megalopolis, these were everywhere wherever manga was available in the early 90s.

Monster City or Monster City Shinjuki as I knew it from advertising in the UK, is a pretty good showcase of 80s animation. The opening fight scene set the mood as good fights against evil, but good loses and an area of Tokyo is take over by the demons. The area goes to pot (and real estate prices tumble) as the demons seek to revive an elder demon god. The son of the hero, Kyoya, is called upon when the President's daughter, Sayaka Rama, to help defeat the forces of evil and save her President father by going to the heart of Demon City Shinjuku, defeat the 3 sub-bosses before facing the acolyte, Rebi Rah, who is aiming to resurrect the eldritch gods from the demon realm.

Overall, the plot is pretty simple and makes sense as it is very videogamey. The animation is gorgeous, fluid and has that Kawajiri sense of style which was very evocative of 'Japanimation' that looked head and shoulders above most other animation studios from the time. The character designs are excellent and have aged pretty well considering it is nearly 40 years old. An aspect I appreciate is that it isn't too fanservicey or cringy but it is the 80s so we still get classics like, "I'm gonna tear his head off and shove it up his a$$". This is one of the most edge lordy things in this manga but then, it was the late 80s so that 'tude fits with the times. More problematic is when our' hero' decides to sleep on the floor and share the bed otherwise he might not be able to help himself to attack the woman who is accompanying him on this mission.

However, I do appreciate that Sayaka has some agency and is determined to find out what is going on in order to save her father. This is tempered by the fact that she is incredibly gullible and almost  gets assaulted before she is saved, but she does get swindled out of cash.

Kyoya is the stereotypical slacker who is a chauvinist but has the potential for greatness through his sword fighting skills, if he inky applied himself. Their team up works as they save each other a couple of times and it all is sealed with a (consensual) kiss after the defeat of 3 henchbeaasts and a disciple before the Elder Demon God's are released into our realm.

The film has voice acting that is indicative of the quality for the time. The American President's daughter sounds Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom plummy British whilst the kid who helps them sounds like the dreadful Slow Poke Rodriguez who has a stereotypical Mexican accent that is from those banned old Tom and Jerry. The kids supposed to be a tween but sounds like an old man who's smoked 20 a day all his life. The dub is so bad but I love it; it is a creature of its time but my gosh is the animation and framing lush.

Overall, whilst definitely not amazing, Monster City is better than most anime from the 80s and isn't too problematic. It's worth the 80 mins or so of your time.

LINK- The Transportive Nature of Objects (And the Power of Mini Consoles)

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- The Last Guardian- Video Games As Art

LINK- Shadow of the Colossus- Book Review

LINK: Manga Exhibition at the British Museum

LINK- My One True Gaming Constant in Life- Nintendo

LINK- Akira Soundtrack Vinyl Review

LINK- The Midnight Library and the Idea That You Can’t Go Home Again

Manga Mania and Me

Over the new year, I planned on using my annual month long abstinence from gaming in January to catch up on the television shows, movies, comics and books I’d collated. Whilst visiting my family in Barking in December, I visited the local CEX and found the Haibane Renmei bluray set. I bought it as it is one of my favourite series ever. This lit a fire in me; I needed to get back on that manga train and reserve some space for retro anime and manga from the 80s and 90s. To help me compile a watch list I started to look through my old Manga Mania, Anime FX and Manga Max collections and this sent me down a rabbit-hole.

Manga Mania was an incredibly formative read for me in my early teen years as it published some great manga stories (including the entire run of Akira) whilst also talking about the wider manga and anime scene through informative articles. This was where I learned about Ghibli before it was a thing in the West as well as other series which would gain traction over time including Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop and many others.
Regular writers Helen McCarthy and Jonathan Clements were the arbiters of good taste, much like Kieron Gillen and Julian 'Jaz' Rignall were for videogames and Q magazine was for music (until that crazily overenthusiastic review of Oasis' Be Here Now which is a meh album at best). These enthusiasts spoke from experience and their longform essays became formative in my interest in Japan, turning me from a weeb to a full on Japanophile.

Manga Mania was cool but it went through a cringy phase with covers featuring badly cosplaying women and splash words that emphasised SEX! VIOLENCE! etc.... It was so edgy try-hard at a time. When I was trying to convince many people that manga wasn't all sex, violence, tentacles or mysogyny the biggest magazine on the matter was putting these key words on the cover! This was the time of lad's mags, frosted tips, 'largin' it' and Nu Metal so these were weird times indeed.

Luckily though, Manga Max came out a short while later and I appreciated its move back to the centre, more sensible ground. It was a more premium looking product and looked classy- think Edge videogames magazine rather than Games Master magazine (I loved Games Master magazine when I read it in WHSmiths so that’s not a knock but it was definitely a different vibe to Edge and has aged less well)

Looking back now, I can see where my interest in writing about my various interests comes from... It's from these magazines I consumed in my youth. I have less time now and so I only buy the 3 magazines each month, Edge (videogames), Retro Gamer (err, does was it says on the tin) and Infinity (Cult Retro Pop Culture).

I'm enjoying revisiting these various old manga magazines and am creating a list of manga and anime I will watch over the next year. I missed a lot in my youth due to lack of availability, time, constraints and generally just living my life and going out with friends to London and gigs. Now, I have a little more time set aside each evening and will watch what I missed.

I know there's so much manga and anime out there but I miss the community that existed when I was younger. This sounds incredibly hipster and gatekeepery but it's not meant to; I'm just getting older so it's hard to connect with people my age on the matter. I've joined a couple of FB groups and that's on the older animations so that's good.

There is just so much content that we are constantly moving on, very few things are allowed to bed in and become part of the zeitgeist. We had limited funds and availability and so, when my group of friends and peers would share a VHS tape it became a water-cooler conversation situation... but in the playgrounds as we were young tweens. The cost of those old VHS tapes was prohibitively high so you'd watch and rewatch those same tapes, cherishing them... even if they were a bit crap sometime (I’m looking at you Legend of the Four Kings- which my best mate at the time owned). Like the odd duff videogame you'd buy based on screenshots at the back of the cassette tape, you'd have almost a Stockholm Syndrome level of affection even though everyone knew that it was inherently rubbish

When Channel 4 started showing manga and anime late at night, it became *THE* conversation for a lot of my friends and I. We would discuss plot points, art styles, music and all that went with the show. However, with the emergence of DVDs and the Internet there wasn't a monoculture anymore. It was great for access to a wider variety of content, but it also meant we lost that sense of community. No doubt, a lot of that is due to my age; I'm 43 years old and the cool stuff now is not stuff I've seen or I'm into and I get that. Also, there's just sooo much stuff out there so where to begin? I do like going to conventions and seeing the variety of costumes and merchandise out there- there really is stuff for everybody and I’m pleased that manga has become mainstream.

I'm not decrying options but the choice paralysis that hits when you have too many options is real. With Gamepass and PS + I could have access to thousands of games but sometimes it's exhausting so I go revisit an old favourite. That's what I'm doing now with manga. I haven't got time for a 1000+ episodes of One Piece but I can spare a few hours for GTO, Death Note or Future Boy Conan.

Manga Mania was a hugely formative part of my life and, even though it's not a big a part as it used to be, it still informs much of my interests nowadays. I’ve had a blast looking through the magazines and will endeavour to keep them forevermore.

Pixel Art Pops In Teignmouth

Invader is a pioneer of ceramic pixel art inspired street art and his Space Invader inspired creations can be found all around Paris. He seems to have an acolyte with a pixel art enthusiast who has dotted several videogame, animation and pop culture pieces in Teignmouth, Devon with his signature Pacman Ghost. There have been art pieces appearing next to street signs in the small coastal town. I've found 30 so far but am sure that there must be a lot more around. I'm gonna go on a hunt to find them all, Pokemon style.

If you like what you see, you can follow Ghost on Instagram as ghost_tq14 or Facebook as Teignmouth ghost.