Judge- Cult Manga Review

I've recently immersed myself in a nostalgic journey through the late 80s and early 90s manga and anime that shaped my youth. It has been a truly enlightening experience traveling back to an amazingly formative period in my life as I navigate through what some may call a mild mid-life crisis. It was a golden time for 'Japanimation' - that term still makes me shudder a little- and this period holds a truly special place in my media-consuming heart.

Manga Entertainment built a bit of a cult following in its heydey of the late 80s and early 90s. Now, I watched whatever I could get my hands on but funds for me were limited so there were many films, series and OAVs that I never got to. However, with the power of the internet I've been able to catch up on loads that I never got around to the first time round.

Judge was one of those VHS tapes I'd see on shop shelves but never got around to watching. The 55 minute OVA is about the Judge of Darkness who tries people from crimes they may escape from in the human realm. The book of law, made from human skin, recalls the testimony from the victims so that they may find vindication in death. When an embezzler uses a girlfriend colleague to help him steal money, she commits suicide whilst he nearly gets to walk away but judgement is coming.

In the second case, a company director, who hires a hit man to kill his work rival, is on trial. The Judge of Darkness, who is usually the judge, jury and executioner, must attempt to present the case that the man is guilty to the Court of 10 King's against the Attorney of Darkness, a defence attorney who represents the guilty... for a high fee of course. But, who will win?

This is a great conceit and the idea of a judge watching us and making us face up to our actions is suitably dark fare. Now, I should preface this by saying that not all anime and manga that was released in England were bangers but they generally had a certain benchmark of quality. Unfortunately, this most definitely is not a banger... it's more of a damp squib. The art style is pretty ugly in my opinion and, whilst it does have a promising premise, it is severely let down but basic characterisation, forgettable dialogue and nothing to really make it stay in your memory. It's a no dawg from me.

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- Blood, Sweat and Pixels- Book Review

LINK- The Offworld Collection- Book Review

LINK- Shadow of the Colossus- 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)

LINK- My One True Gaming Constant in Life- Nintendo

Ulysses 31 Intro Parody

The 80's were an amazing time for cartoons and one of the finest was Ulysses 31. It tells a story similar to Homer's The Odyssey but is set in the 31st century, hence the 31. The 26 episode series is amazing and still holds up well. The introduction was especially catchy and there is a parody version of it. It’s in French but that doesn’t detract from its awesomeness.

Carmen Sandiego Season 3 Trailer Drops

Carmen Sandiego is the amazing recently rebooted animated series on Netflix based on the older IP which gained prominence for many with the early 90s cartoon and 80’s point and click adventure games. With the new series I really loved season 1 for its stunning animation and creative heists and thought season 2 brought a lot more lore into the world.

Now the trailer for season 3 has dropped and I am so excited. Netflix is knocking it out of the park at the moment and alongside Hilda, this is my favourite animated series on the streaming site… that’s quite a statement for an animation aficionado like me.

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors Track List Revealed

"Go, Jayce, conqueror from afar, look for your father ..."

And with these words Jayce and the lightning league battled the Monster Minds and Saw Boss for 65 episodes. Produced by the hilariously named (at least I thought at the time) DIC studios and overseen by Jean Chalopin (of Mysterious Cities of Gold, Ulysses 31, Inspector Gadget and tonnes of other formative cartoons from the 80s) the show was grand and cheesy operatic drama and a big part of this was due to the epic music, created by Shuki Levy and Haim Saban.

The soundtrack for the series has never been released… until now. Tele 80 has crowdfunded the OST for a September release on CD and Vinyl. There is a delay due to Covid but the soundtrack should be released in October now. However, Tele 80 has released a track list and it looks pretty good- not as comprehensive as the 35th anniversary Ulysses 31 release but it’s a good start.

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors track list

Official Moomins YouTube Channel Showing Classic 90s Show

I have a deep love for the Moomins as many of you may know. I've discussed the Moomins multiple times before, either when talking about the 80s stop motion animation, the exhibition at the Southbank Centre or even when reviewing the new Moominvalley series.

The Moomins are beloved characters created by the Finnish artist and storyteller, Tove Jansson. I am a huge fan of the creatures and with the recent release of the Moominvalley series, the Official Moomin YouTube page has launched with behind the scenes interviews with casts, creatives and other people involved in the production of the wonderful series.

However, the real jewel in the crown for this channel is that it is slowly releasing episodes of the wildly popular Adventures From Moominvalley animation from the 90s. It was this series, more than any previous one, that brought the Moomins worldwide fame. Check it out as at the time of writing the first 3 episodes are available to watch in high quality.

I never really watched the show in the 90s as I was going through my Edge Lord manga and anime phase… but watching it many years after the fact, it is quite lovely and gentle!

I never really watched the show in the 90s as I was going through my Edge Lord manga and anime phase… but watching it many years after the fact, it is quite lovely and gentle!

Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated- Series 1 Review

Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated began in 2010 and had a hard hurdle to climb. After years of sub-par Scooby Doo shows hopes weren't high for this new series but dear gosh does this incarnation of the series blows all expectations out of the water.   

Mystery Incorporated follows the traditional Scooby-Doo trope of the monster-of-the-week but adds further depth by adding an over-arcing story. The gang live in Crystal Cove, “The Most Hauntedest Place on Earth” and share a love of mystery solving. The series takes the basic premise of the original couple of series but grounds the protagonists further by introducing their families and giving them a home. By adding the parents continuity, depth and dynamics are introduced to the characters, and it's the interplay between the protagonists that really shines. Daphne loves Fred, but Fred loves creating traps and spending time solving mysteries with the gang. Velma and Shaggy are an item but keeping it hidden from Scooby so as not to upset him. The dynamics created by this simple slight alteration in the mythos ensures that the script and dialogue between the characters zips along at a cracking pace, pop culture references are dropped left, right and centre and you have to listen out for zingy one liners, one of my personal faves being Velma berating Scooby, "Before you go code brown..."

Marvellous stuff with a Whedon-esque lilt, and not a shwarma in sight.

For a kids show there are a lot of pop culture references but then this isn't a kids show aimed at kids, it's more like Disney's Gravity Falls, a 'kids' show more suited for adults. For a series that is over 40 years old that started off with janky Hannah-Barbara animated chase scenes, choreographed to cheesy pop music to one which cites Twin Peaks, The X Files and H.P. Lovecraft amongst some of its influences the series really adds layers to the traditional Scooby Doo formula. When a Vincent Price nod appears in the form of recurring character Vincent Van Ghoul and a Cabinet of Doctor Caligari reference is dropped, you know that this is something special with writers who have a deep knowledge and love of cinema yet a fondness for the original Scooby Doo shows.

As a 36 year old man with a 2 1/2 year old daughter it really is difficult to explain how good Mystery Incorporated! is but I will say that it is one of the best animated shows that I've ever seen, and I am an animation aficionado so that is high praise indeed.

With Mystery Incorporated, Scooby Doo has come back bigger, brighter and better than ever before. As a huge fan of animation I can say unreservedly that this is a great return for an iconic series. I am currently ordering series 2 of the show as the series ends on a cliffhanger that I need closure on.

Series 1 is currently airing on Amazon Prime and I would recommend everyone watch it!

Fatal Frame 2 Fun Animation

Fatal Frame, known here in England as Project Zero, is a scary game in which the player controls the protagonist Mio Amakura as she searches the Lost Village for (and sometimes, with) her twin sister, Mayu. Exploring the seemingly deserted village the player finds various objects with which to solves puzzles in order to advance. Ghosts pop up and attack or assist Mio, who hasthe 'Camera Obscura', an antique camera that has the ability to harm the spirits and reveals hidden things.

The game is a very popular series in Japan and I love the series, having played and completed the first one on the original Xbox. Since then there have been 4 more games released in the series and I have played and completed most of them, except for game 4 as it never saw a release in the West on the Wii.

Well Markiplier with the help of GrittySugar! have made a hilarious animation based on the tropes of the series.

Mysterious Cities of Gold Season 2 Review

The original Mysterious Cities of Gold series was a French- Japanese co-produced animation by Dic Entertainment and Studio Pierrot. The series premiered in Japan on NHK on 29 June 1982 and ran weekly for 39 episodes.

I first caught the series on BBC 1 in the early 80s and was beguiled by the mythical adventure story of a young Spanish boy named Esteban who joins a voyage to the New World in search of the lost Cities of Gold and his father. The impressive looking background art, sharply drawn characters, and the beautiful soundtrack kept me entranced throughout the whole series, becoming my favourite programme of all time. It informed my formative years and introduced me to the wonders of the ancient world including the Incas, Aztecs, Atlantis and El Dorado. Even at the age of 33 I still regularly revisit the programme every year and I can attest to the fact that it still holds up as an impressive piece of work.

There has been talk of a second series for years and preliminary plans were laid however it never materialised. However with the re-release of the series on DVD in 2008 and increased interest in the new series were finally put into production. Debuting on the Kix Channel in December the second series finally landed. So how does it fare compared to the original?

At the end of the original series the children had only found one of the seven lost cities of gold, yet the conclusion was oddly satisfying in an open-ended way. Well the second series is a continuation rather than a reboot, so with the same character designs and story the series picks from the end of series one; The three children and Mendoza, Pedro and Sancho heading to China in search of the next lost city of gold and the truth about Esteban’s father.

On the whole I really did enjoy the new series but felt that it lacked the atmosphere and awe that was present in the original series. The voice actors were passable, however I did feel that Mendoza sounded angry or annoyed a lot of the time, a shift from his can-do attitude from the first series. Also the synth music from the discovery parts and key events made each new discovery super special. The music that dropped when the adventurers find the Solaris and Golden Condor still sends shivers down my spine. I felt that in this new series moments of emotive music and silence from the characters would have carried greater gravitas than the exposition from the characters.

China is well represented in the series with beautiful background artwork.

The team still go on awe inspiring adventures which draw you in.

The series does take a little while to get going, the first 10 or so episodes are very slow paced but the series does pick up and from episode 16 onwards I had those moment of awe and wonder, much like I felt nearly 25 years ago when I first saw the first series.

I'll leave you with one of my favourite youtube videos, this is St. Elmos Fire, the piece of music by Haim Saban and Shuki Levi. This music swells in the series when there are moments of discovery... the new series was missing these moments but does stand well as a continuation. Roll on series 3!

The 2D animation boom

It seems you can't turn up at the cinema without he latest CGI animation showing,  and this may seem like the death knell for traditional hand drawn animation but the truth is far more interesting. Check out this short documentary (just over 10 minutes) which shows that 2D animation is thriving. Enjoy!