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Japan in the Heian era (794 - 1185) and things are not well
in the land. In the capital city of Kyoto the imperial court
is at the height of its power, art and literature are flourishing
in a creative explosion. However, in the countryside poverty
and illness ravishes the land and the capital, itself, is
quickly falling into a state of disrepair. In order to halt
this decline the emperor must find the missing Magatama. When
the five are joined together legend says that the suffering
of the land will be alleviated. More than this, whoever places
the last three will become Emperor. Through a twist of fate
Hikaru, disguised as her brother Minamoto, crosses the land
with only Watanabe no Tsuna, a partially sighted samurai,
as her only companion...
Volume
three of Otogi Zoshi continues the shows usual level
of excellence in both animation and plot. The more of this
show I see, the more I like it. In truth, it is difficult
to find fault with it, though we haven't yet seen how the
show will be handled when it transfers its storyline from
the Heian period to modern Japan. This volume brings to a
close Hikaru's search for the remaining Magatama's and covers
episodes ten to thirteen (Shuten, Conflict,
Seimei and Hikaru).
It
is a truism that power corrupts, and the potential power of
the Magatama is too much for the various factions to resist
- only Hikaru appears to hold on to the ideals of honour.
Following on from Volume
Two, Shuten has a change of mind regarding
his promise to give up the last Magatama and it falls to Hikaru
to try and retrieve the object, though not his honour. When
it is finally returned to the Capital, ministers vie with
each other to control such objects of power.
Whilst,
all around is falling to pieces the only characters who hold
true to what they believe in are Hikaru and Seimi, whose machinations
continue to the detriment of all, as he sees his plan to utterly
destroy the Capital coming to fruition. With Armageddon on
the horizon, only Hikaru and her companions stand between
potential utter ruin and Seimi.
Although
the ending is a little too protracted, it is understandable
given the overall pace of the piece.
Disc
two consists of nothing but extras, now this isn't a complaint
as we are used to anime shows having few, if any, extras,
so to have a whole disc is a feast indeed. The show takes
its historical accuracy seriously and changes very little,
except where it might conflict with the dramatic intent and
to prove it each disc, so far, has come with a nice lecture
from the Tokyo University which discusses both the historical
context of the show and how the characters reflect their real
life counterparts. Dr Hongo, who presents almost twenty minutes
of riveting information, knows what he is talking about -
not only as a historian, but also as a lifelong anime and
manga fan.
Next
up is a seven minute feature, entitled Behind the Scenes
of Otogi Zoshi, which takes us behind the scenes at I.
G. Productions to see some of the people making the show.
You can also peruse an eight minute feature on the show's
closing theme song with contributions from both the singer
and composer. Now that's one up from just bunging the Japanese
ending on the disc. If that wasn't enough to whet your appetite
them maybe a half an hour spent in the company of the show's
makers, as they sit round a table to discuss Otogi Zoshi,
might do it. Even the trailers section is an improvement over
the usual, letting you choose which trailers you want to see,
rather than just showing you them all.
If
you didn't believe that the makers of the show think that
this project is special then you just have to look at the
beautifully crisp visuals and listen to either an English
or Japanese stereo, 5.1 or DTS audio track. The DTS really
is the best one to go for if you have it as it really does
the show justice.
So
what can you say about a near perfect show that gives fans
a plethora of extras? Only one word for it: Sweet.
 
Charles
Packer
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