For a change of pace, and for the sake of entertainment, I bring to you something that I have never done in on this channel before – Singing. Sit back and relax as I risk life, limb and reputation to sing one of my favorite Anime songs, Koi no Mikuru Densetsu! I do hope you enjoy it as it honestly took a ton of time and effort to complete. (^.^;) Think of it as an early Christmas present to you all.

If you ask me why I like this song, I don’t think I’ll be able to give you a clear answer. Perhaps its because of the memorably horrendous and yet hilarious movie that the SOS Dan made. Or perhaps it’s because of Mikuru’s adorable voice and the song’s silly lyrics that always bring a smile to my face in times of stress.

After a slew of delays, the PSP To Aru Kagaku no Railgun PSP game has finally been released, bringing along everyone’s favorite Ero-Teleporter, Shirai Kuroko to join her beloved Onee-sama in Figma form.

Bonus pictures and the actual review after the jump!

She’s here! The long awaited and highly anitcipated Figma Homura from the much loved (and loathed) Puella Magi Madoka Magica is finally available to the hoards of screaming Homu Homu fans.

Does she live up to all the hype? Can GSC do no wrong? Will she ever find her missing hat? Let’s find out.

A quick look at the exclusive re-color of the DX Perfect Zecter from Kamen Rider Kabuto.

I’m back after a long hiatus with another Madoka review! This time, we take a look at something rather unusual – a transforming plush toy of the cheese loving, head biting Witch of Sweets, Charlotte!

The best concept for a plush toy ever? Most definitely.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS! Here’s a portion of the Figma Madoka review that was cut out due to its length. It’s basically me giving my opinions on the show Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Written version after the jump.

So, Madoka Magica. Well, personally, I have to say that I did enjoy the series and it is somewhat unique in the sense that it presents a different take on the whole Magical Girl genera, being deconstructive and whatnot and the animation and fights, when they do happen, are superb as can be expected from SHAFT. Though technically speaking, Madoka as a whole is really nothing new. As mentioned by VillainousHanacha as we were discussing the series before hand, Madoka borrows many of its elements from previous works. The premise from Faust, the dark magical girl aspects from Nanoha and Mai Hime and even the animation techniques can be seen in other SHAFT works like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Hidamari Sketch. At its core, it does still contains the basic elements of a Magical Girl series such as them fighting the forces of darkness with the power of hope, having a cute mascot character, having transformation scenes, so on and so forth.

Many would also say that the plot of Madoka is truly exceptional. While I don’t disagree that it is above average, I don’t think that it was a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I’d say that most of what makes the show seem so intriguing is the deconstructive take on the magical girl genera, the surprises and the plot twists. Take all that away, and you aren’t really left with anything that special.

And to be dreadfully honest, I think that most people, myself included, like the show for the plot twists and surprises. The actual plot itself is pretty contrived and the characters, aside from maybe Homura and Kyoko, are treated as mere stepping stones to get the plot moving along and didn’t receive nearly enough character development to warrant any attachment from the viewer. And I also think that the show suffers from that because attachment to the characters is really important in getting the viewer to become invested in the show. You don’t care about the characters and you don’t care what happens to them.

But before I get misunderstood, as I said in the beginning, I truly did enjoy the show and don’t think that there is anything wrong if you like the series for the unique premise and for the surprises. Yes, the ‘shock’ factor is a cheap trick, but while watching the show, it does achieve the desired effect of making one want to watch the next episode immediately, similar to Code Geass R2. Both these shows love to leave the audience hanging at the end of episodes. The downside of this is, of course, that it utterly fails or falls flat on its face on a re-watch or while marathoning. Besides, sometimes we can become fans of the said shock moments themselves. If I could draw a comparison, I find Madoka to be very similar to School Days in the sense that only an element of the series causes it to stand out and it’s popular because of said element.

Completely unexpected for anyone who has no prior knowledge or experience of the series. That shock factor is unequivocally key in propelling both series above and beyond the mundane to internet meme fame. It’s the juxtaposition of preconceived expectations and the unexpected. I love that kind of stuff.

However, at the end of the day, it’s just a gimmick to gain publicity and the creators of Madoka are well aware of that. But I think it’s perfectly all right to let yourself get caught up in it, as long as you are aware of it. It’s like how I’m not that big of a fan of School Days, but do own several pieces of Kotonoha merchandise.

To sum it all up, I think that Madoka is a show that is not groundbreaking but is a pretty awesome ride that shouldn’t be taken too seriously.

I have been a student of the Japanese language for quite sometime. Nowadays, when watching Anime, Drama or Tokusatsu, I always analyze the translations to learn and improve my own language capability as I myself would like to be a translator one day. Recently, I have been perplexed by the difficulty that people have been having with the translation of the phrase ‘キター’.

‘キター’ is said to have originated on 2ch and is used when something that has been eagerly anticipated has finally occured/happened.

‘きた’ or ‘来た’ is the non-polite past form of the verb 来る, meaning to come. Translated literally, it means ‘has come’ or ‘came’ or even ‘arrived’. For instance ’私の友達もうきた’ meaning ‘My friend is alreay here’.

Official R1 translations from the Lucky Star DVDs.

We’ve seen many instances of this term’s usage in Anime and Drama.

So, that being said, I still have a hard time understanding why so many people are finding the term so difficult to translate. A perfect example would be Forze’s catchphrase ‘宇宙(space)キター’ from the currently airing Kamen Rider series.

Many people say that it can be translated as a lot of things, such as ‘Fuck Yeah’ or  ‘Awesome’. The thing is, I don’t understand how this comes about.

I don’t see Why ’宇宙キター’ cannot be literally translated as ‘Space is here!’ or ‘Space has arrived!’. Gentaro shouting ‘Space is here!’ each time he transforms indicates that Forze (the power of space) has arrived on the scene, ready to kick butt. To me, him yelling ‘Space is Awesome!’ or ‘Space, Fuck Yeah!’ makes little to no sense in that particular context. ‘Space is here!’ makes perfect sense in English and it pretty much conveys what is intended by the Gentaro.

If you want to argue that ‘Space is here!’ doesn’t convey the excitement in the tone of voice itself, I’d have to disagree. The tone of voice itself need not always be incorporated into the translation choice as you can clearly hear the tone of voice in the dialogue/audio.

To illustrate what I mean, the word ‘Yeah’. It can mean agreement and acknowledgement ‘Yeah, okay.’ but it can also be an exclamation of joy or happiness ‘Yeah! Alright!’. The word remains exactly the same, but the meaning is implied or changes based on the tone of voice.

Lastly, just to clarify, I am not advocating leaving the word ‘Kita!’ untranslated (despite being a completely viable option), as I know that there are many people despise this. What I am advocating is just the accuracy of translation.

Also, I am not saying that I am an expert or translation vetren. I am just a humble student of the Japanese language and this is just something that I myself want clarified for educational purposes. If you have any opinions on the issue or are more knowledgable about Japanese slang or translation, do comment.

This semester, I took a course on Postwar Japanese Film and Anime. For one of our individual assignments, we had to write an analytical essay on one of the assigned movies. With the semester finally over, it is my pleasure to present to you my essay on one of my favorite Ghibli movies, Kiki’s Delivery Service, focusing on how the theme of tradition and modernity is presented in the film.

Tradition and Modernity in Kiki’s Delivery Service

On the surface, the film, Kiki’s Delivery Service, is a simple story about a witch going on a journey of independence. However, upon closer inspection, I propose that the film is also used by Hayao Miyazaki to comment on and critique the negative aspects of modern society and the fading of the traditional values and the old ways. At the same time, he informs and reminds the audience of the importance of said traditional values and old ways. He does this through the premise of the film and through the portrayal of the characters, the settings and the events that occur within it. The themes of tradition and modernity are also explored in many of Miyazaki’s other works such as Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, which I shall be referring to during the course of this essay.

Kiki’s is set in “a fictional European city whose architecture and landscape contain hints of both Stockholm and the Mediterranean”1 and containing “Western fairy-tale archetypes (such) as witches and black cats”2. Even though it is not explicitly mentioned anywhere in the film that it is a commentary on specifically Japanese society, the issue of tradition and modernity is definitely one that was close at heart to the Japanese people at the time.
The premise readily establishes the fact that there are fantasy elements such as magic and witches present in the world of Kiki’s. However, magic in the context of Kiki’s is set against the backdrop of a very realistic world that is currently undergoing industrialization and modernization, evident from the numerous smog producing factories that Kiki sees at the beginning of her journey. In this world, witches and magic, while readily accepted by most people, are seen as a rarity and is presented as a dying tradition. It is made clear by various characters in the film that witches are “not something you see every day” and magic is something that is “old-fashioned”. Here, magic and witches can be seen as being symbolic of the traditional and the old ways and this is further emphasized by the liminal setting.

In Kiki’s, according to tradition, 13 year old witches are supposed to leave home and go on a one year journey to begin their training. This entails leaving for another town and learning to be independent. The journey of independence itself is referred to as an “old custom” by Kiki’s mother. She also remarks that “nobody leaves home that young anymore”, once again hinting that the witches’ traditions are slowly changing or dying out.
With this setting in mind, Miyazaki presents to the audience the contrast between tradition and modernity through the use of his characters, their interactions and the trials that they go through.

The main protagonist of the film is Kiki. Unlike her mother, she is exceedingly eager to go on the journey of independence. Kiki is portrayed in the film by Miyazaki as an ideal and is symbolic of all that is traditional. She is not only eager to leave home and go on the journey, but she also wears the traditional witch’s clothes and embodies many “traditionally sanctioned virtues such as endurance and hard work”3. Kiki herself is a shoujo character, or young girl. This is significant to the theme of tradition and modernity as “the image of the young girl evokes certain crucial aspects of Japanese cultural tradition.” 4

When Kiki arrives in the new city, she is at first ignored by the people around her. Here, Kiki is made out to be the ‘other’ and this is made clearer though the difference in her appearance from that of the city folk, her stark black clothes standing out amongst the colorful clothes of the city folk. This scene not only deals with the very Japanese concept of the uchi, inside, and soto, outside, it is also used to again emphasize the disconnect between the traditional and the modern and comment on how the traditional is not readily accepted in modern society.

She gets discouraged, but she perseveres, even though JiJi, her cat, suggested to her that they should go to another town. This perseverance pays off as she is able to get lodging and breakfast at a bakery, in exchange for helping out. She also manages to set up a delivery service, helping the people of the town make deliveries using her ability of flight. As mentioned by Napier, the act of enduring and working hard is a prized traditional virtue and this allows her to be accepted into the community. Working to gain acceptance is also seen in another of Miyazaki’s films, Spirited Away, as Chihiro has to work to be “incorporated into the bathhouse collectivity”.5 Just like Chihiro in Spirited Away, the various jobs and tasks that Kiki has to undergo can be seen as trials in her rite of passage.

Miyazaki is able to once again critique the modern values of self-indulgence and commercialism and the loss of traditional values though the modern girl and her interaction with Kiki. Kiki braves the rain to deliver a pie to the modern girl that was lovingly baked by her grandmother. The modern girl responds with a brief and crude “I really hate Grandmother’s pies” and shuts the door in Kiki’s face, not even offering her a towel to dry herself off. Here, Miyazaki critiques the current state of the youth and the modern values that they possess by depicting the modern girl as being rude, uncaring and unappreciative. The contrast between the two characters is again made all the more apparent by the dressing and the state that the two characters are in. Kiki’s traditional witch’s robe is drenched and dirtied by the rain. At the same time, the modern girl is dolled up in a gaudy outfit with numerous accessories hanging off her, perhaps a comment by Miyazaki on materialism and consumerism that comes with modernity. Like Spirited Away, it is a “critique of the materialism and toxicity of contemporary Japanese society.” 6

Going back to the previous point on how hard work is considered to be a “traditionally sanctioned virtue” 7, unlike Kiki, neither the modern girl nor her friends work. This shows that the modern children of similar age to Kiki do not possess these prized traditional values and is representative of how such traditional values are getting lost in the modern society.

In many of Miyazaki’s other works, flight is used to represent escapism and the limitless possibilities. Flight in Kiki’s, however, is more than just that. Aside being a magical power and thus, symbolic of tradition, flight is also noted to be Kiki’s sole talent as mentioned by herself, “I have one skill… Flying.” This would signify that the power of flight is closely related to her identity and her self-confidence.

A major event in the film is when Kiki loses her power of flight. The explanation for this phenomenon is not explicitly told to the audience. However, it can be inferred that her loss of her witch powers is due to the loss of her self-confidence when her identity and place in the city was put into question. That was the result of Kiki’s own apprehension and reluctance to join the group of modern children. This is possibly because she felt that she didn’t belong, once again bringing up the concept of the uchi and soto. One can easily assume that this was the result of her previous interaction with the modern girl and the difference in values that she witnessed first-hand. Kiki, questioning her own liminal identity and place in the new city and her reluctance to integrate with the modern children, is representative of the fact that the traditional and the old ways are not easily integrated into the modern society. Furthermore, her loss of self-confidence and powers at the hand of the modern children illustrates again the loss of tradition in modern society. The close relationship between the loss of identity and power at the hands of modernity is also seen in Spirited Away as Haku loses his powers and identity when his river was filled for a housing development project.

Aside from the characters, Miyazaki uses the settings and their presentation in Kiki’s to critique modernity and to reaffirm traditional values. This is done mainly through the juxtaposition between nature and civilization. Nature constantly plays an important role in the works of Miyazaki, from being a force to be reckoned with in Momonoke Hime to being linked closely with the supernatural in Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.

Nature and civilization in Kiki’s can be seen as another commentary on the current state of the traditional and the modern in contemporary society. Keiko McDonald states that “oneness with nature, for example, has long been considered part of the Japanese national character” and that “by 1988, parents had reason to be concerned that their children were losing touch with nature. Urban sprawl was purely to blame.”8

After losing her powers, Kiki also moves out of the city, which is nearly devoid of foliage, to live for a day in the forest with Ursula, a friend she made during one of her deliveries. It is in nature that Kiki is able to heal and ‘find herself’. The ‘returning to nature’ that is also seen in My Neighbor Totoro, where the protagonists live in the countryside, is symbolic of going back to the old ways and reaffirming the traditional values. It of course makes sense that Kiki’s original home is also in the countryside, close to nature. The advice that Ursula gives Kiki is to “Take long walks, look at the scenery, doze off at noon.” when she is unable to fly are all very close to nature as well.

Lastly, another way that Miyazaki critiques modernity through Kiki’s is through the portrayal of technology and its comparison to the old ways as technology is a critical part of modernity.

The climax of the movie is when a newly launched air ship loses control, brought about by the strong wind, an act of nature, and is crippled. Tombo, one of Kiki’s friends, is left dangling for his life from a rope trailing from the damaged air ship. The air ship eventually crashes and lodges itself onto the side of the clock tower with Tombo still struggling to hang on. Kiki rushes to Tombo’s rescue and her powers are miraculously restored as she flies to Tombo’s aid and saves the day.

This scene can be interpreted in a couple of ways. Firstly, the air ship represents the modern and industrialized society. Depicting the air ship, artificial, man-made flight, bursting and destroying itself hints at the destructive and negative impact of over industrialization. On the other hand, Kiki’s natural powers of flight and broom do work, albeit not perfectly, and are able to successfully save Tombo. The failure of man-made flight contrasted with the success of traditional magic flight is Miyazaki’s way of commenting on the unreliability of modern technology, while championing and reaffirming the reliability of the old methods. Not only is this a commentary by Miyazaki on people’s overreliance of technology and the modern, it is literally symbolic of the Japanese economic bubble bursting in the late 1980s. Kiki rushing in to save the day with her newly restored powers is a commentary of how in such times of crisis, people must not forget the traditional values which will eventually ‘save’ Japan.

After the air ship accident, which can be considered as Kiki’s trial, she is finally accepted into the city as everyone cheers her on. In Spirited Away, Chihiro also earns “the approval of her fellow bath attendants” and “develop(s) her own confidence”9 as she overcomes her own trials by saving the day from problems caused by consumerism and modernization, be it the polluted River God or the greedy and excessive consumption of No-Face, “a signifier of excess and carnival gone out of control.”10

Another not as climactic, but equally telling scene of the unreliability of technology and the importance of the old ways occurs earlier in the movie when an electric oven fails to heat up when needed. In the end, an old wood burning oven is used to cook the pie. It is fortunate that Kiki had the knowledge to use the wood burning oven.

It is interesting to note that both Kiki’s loss of powers and the air ship incident were not in the original source material that Kiki’s is based on, a book similarly titled Kiki’s Delivery Service published in 1985, before the economic bubble burst. As the film was produced after the Japanese economic bubble burst, it can be inferred that the two incidents were specifically placed into the film by Miyazaki as an attempt to critique the evils of modernity and to remind audiences of the importance of traditional values and the old ways.

However, the ending of the film is upbeat. The final message is one of optimism. From the movie, it would appear that Miyazaki himself wishes that people should return to the old ways and embrace the traditional values instead of the new and to not over rely on technology. However, in the end, it is an impossibility. It is possible that he realizes this and thus, the final message is one of co-existence between tradition and modernity, as seen it the final scene of Kiki flying alongside Tombo in his man-made airplane.

In conclusion, through the analysis of the premise, characters, setting and depictions of technology in the film Kiki’s Delivery Service, it can be seen that Hayao Miyazaki uses the film to comment on modernity, modern values, consumerism, the over reliance on technology and the loss of traditions, traditional values and the old ways.

———

Notes

1. Susan J. Napier, “Confronting Master Narratives: History As Vision in Miyazaki Hayao’s Cinema of De-assurance,” positions: east asia cultures critique 9, no. 2 (2001): 472

2. Susan J. Napier, Anime from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation (New York: Palgrave Macmillian 2001), 162

3. Susan J. Napier, “Matter Out of Place: Carnival, Containment, and Cultural Recovery in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away,” The Journal of Japanese Studies 32, no. 2 (2006): 301

4. Susan J. Napier, “Matter Out of Place: Carnival, Containment, and Cultural Recovery in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away,” The Journal of Japanese Studies 32, no. 2 (2006): 297

5. Susan J. Napier, “Matter Out of Place: Carnival, Containment, and Cultural Recovery in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away,” The Journal of Japanese Studies 32, no. 2 (2006): 290

6. Susan J. Napier, “Matter Out of Place: Carnival, Containment, and Cultural Recovery in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away,” The Journal of Japanese Studies 32, no. 2 (2006): 288

7. Susan J. Napier, “Matter Out of Place: Carnival, Containment, and Cultural Recovery in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away,” The Journal of Japanese Studies 32, no. 2 (2006): 301

8. Keiko McDonald, “Animation Seminal and Influential – Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro (1998)” in Keiko McDonald ed., Reading a Japanese Film – Cinema in Context, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2006: 178

9. Susan J. Napier, “Matter Out of Place: Carnival, Containment, and Cultural Recovery in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away,” The Journal of Japanese Studies 32, no. 2 (2006): 302

10. Susan J. Napier, “Matter Out of Place: Carnival, Containment, and Cultural Recovery in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away,” The Journal of Japanese Studies 32, no. 2 (2006): 294

Bibliography

Napier, Susan J. Anime from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation, New York: Palgrave Macmillian, (2001)

Napier, Susan J. “Confronting Master Narratives: History As Vision in Miyazaki Hayao’s Cinema of De-assurance,” positions: east asia cultures critique 9, no. 2 (2001): 467-493

Napier, Susan J. “Matter Out of Place: Carnival, Containment, and Cultural Recovery in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away,” The Journal of Japanese Studies 32, no. 2 (2006): 287-310

Mc Donald, Keiko. “Animation Seminal and Influential – Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro (1998)” in Keiko McDonald ed., Reading a Japanese Film – Cinema in Context, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2006

There is one thing that bothers me regarding Madoka, or more accurately, some of Madoka’s fans. Since the first episode of Madoka aired, on many forums and blogs and sites, I have noticed many comments along these lines: “I usually don’t touch Magical Girl Anime, but I am glad that I picked up Madoka” and comments on how Madoka has ‘redefined’ the genera.

I then began seriously thinking as to why these comments irked me so much. It was then that I realized that the people who made these comments probably have never even seen a Magical Girl show before (or have seen one or two) and made assumptions or had the misconcepition that the entire genera consists of similar works.

I would say that, instead of ‘redefining’, Madoka is just another Magical Girl show. Deconstructive, yes, but not revolutionary. After all, the genera is so rich with a variety of different shows that it seriously puts into question what these people’s understanding of the genera actually is. By saying that ‘I would not have touched Magical Girl shows’ and that Madoka ‘redefines’ the genera, I feel that these people are also undermining and overlooking many different Magical Girl shows that they have decided to lump together.

I mean, other than the shared features of Magical Girl shows like transformation scenes, mascot characters, magical items/powers, the fighting of evil and what not, there really is very little in common between Magical Girl shows. And before anyone says anything, as opposed to being ‘cliches’, I would say that the above characteristics are what defines the genera, like how Macross will always have music and transforming planes and how Kamen Riders will always have a henshin belt. As long as they are handled differently in each work, there should be no problems.

Anyways, to be honest, I really can’t see how someone can hate or avoid an entire genera. Is it a misconception that all Magical Girl shows are for little girls?

First off, in most cases, appearances can be deceiving. For instance, Heartcatch Precure, whilst targeting a younger demographic and appearing all flowery and sweet, is surprisingly mature at times and does a phenomenal job with its character development, interactions, action sequences, comedy and plot. The same can be said for Nanoha. While it is a series about 9 year old Magical Girls, with their maturity, you won’t be believing that for a second. Nanoha also shows no restraint in bringing on the big explosions and throwing in some spectacular battles with technologically based magic weapons that do serious damage. The same goes for Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon and a ton of other ‘girly’ or ‘innocent’ looking Magical Girl shows.

And if you are looking for ‘dark’, ‘different’, ‘mature’ and ‘complex’ Magical Girl shows, there are already a ton of them out there such as Revolutionary Girl Utena, Princess Tutu, Cutie Honey, Panty & Stocking, Mai-Hime, etc… Yes, believe it or not, these shows are all within the genera of ‘Magical Girls’ in one way or another.

So basically, what I am trying to advocate to fellow Anime fans is to not limit yourself by being a genera-ist, no matter the genera, especially when dealing a medium as vibrant and varied as Anime. In the case of Magcial Girls, I think many people have a misconception as to what the genera actually is and overlook the sheer variety of what the genera has to offer. As they say, you never know what you’re missing till you try it. Undoubtedly, there will be bad eggs out there that are explorative or otaku-pandering and what not (if you don’t like that kind of stuff), but as I have been saying, one show is not representative of an entire genera.

All in all, I have to admit that I am grateful that Madoka has introduced, or reintroduced, many people to the genera of Magical Girls.

Thanks to Anime Festival Asia, I and many Sora no Otoshimono fans had the opportunity to watch the movie, Sora no Otoshimono: Tokeijikake no Angeroid. As a Sora no Otoshimono fan, it would be a gross understatement to say that I went into the movie with HIGH expectations.

…unfortunately, I felt that the movie was a let down due to a number of problematic issues.

Without any preamble, let’s get straight into the review. Throughout the course of the review, I will be assuming familiarity with the two television series and an understanding that there will be spoilers for the movie and the series in this review.

Before I do begin, however, explanation of some of the plot details is necessary.

The first third is a kind of recap which was mainly footage from both television series with some added scenes from Hiyori’s point of view. This is done to introduce Kazane Hiyori, who is a pivotal character in the movie.

The second third begins the story proper and we see Hiyori join the New World Discovery Club to get closer to Tomoki, who she is in love with. Perversion and comedy ensue.

The final third begins when Hiyori is tragically killed as she gets hit by a truck while crossing the road. We did see Hiyori in the series as an Angel/Person of the Sky in a pod. It is then revealed that these Angels can project an ‘avatar’ of themselves on Earth to ‘dream’ to enjoy themselves. Distraught that she is unable to see Tomoki again as her ‘dream’ was destroyed, Hiyori takes up the Master of the Sky’s (the Angel who enjoys torturing Nymph) offer to be remodeled into an Angeroid, as this is the only way that she will be allowed Earth. Unfortunately, being remodeled also means that she falls into the Master of the Sky’s hands as Angeroids have an obligation to obey their master’s every command. She begins attacking the town and our three Angeroids, Ikaros, Nymph and Astraea fly into battle.

After Tomoki delivers one of his superbly worded speeches, Hiyori eventually regains her senses. She then sacrifices herself to save everyone when the self-destruct device in her collar goes off.

After the credits, we have an ambiguous ending. We are left to assume that Hiyori returns to Tomoki as feathers fall from the sky behind him.

…and that’s pretty much it for the gist of the story. Now for the review proper.

The main issue that I had with the movie was its horrendous pacing on a number of levels. As you can probably tell from reading my story summary, the movie was divided into three very distinct segments that did not flow well together and created a very disjointed viewing experience. I personally believe that even the television series fared much, much better in terms of mixing the comedy and drama.

Also, I personally felt that the entire first third of the movie was a complete waste. They reused far, far too many scenes from the television series in the first third. Other than the few added scenes with Hiyori in them, they were literally cut-and-paste from the original. A blatantly obvious money saving tactic? On one hand, I do agree that the Fallen Down concert scene was gorgeous to watch on the big screen. On the other hand, I don’t think they needed to show the scene off in its entirety.

I understand that they wanted to establish the character of Hiyori as being always present throughout the entire first two seasons, but I don’t think that she needed that. Instead, they could have started off with introducing her character right from where the two television series left off, creating some new situations that allowed us to get to know her character and her motivations. Instead, she was very awkwardly shoehorned into preexisting footage. This really isn’t a viable option as I don’t suppose they planned on making this movie from the very beginning, but in my opinion, it would have been best if they could have established the character of Hiyori from the very beginning, in the television series. That way, they would not need to waste any time doing so in the movie and the audience would be familiar enough with her character and feel sufficiently attached to her.

Perhaps the cut-and-paste scenes were the writers’ attempts to fill in the newcomers on what had already happened. If that was the case, they did a terrible job as well. Most of the cut-and-paste recap scenes were from points in the series that didn’t contain any major plot points or developments at all. No Synapse, no Tomoki’s dream, no Angeroid introduction, nothing. But then again, with movies like these that pretty much require people to have already seen the television series, I say, forgo any attempts at re-establishing characters and past events and just get into the story proper.

So that is the pacing issue on one level. On another level, because of the segmentation and wasted time in the first third, the movie was not able to handle the plot and character development of Hiyori well.

The first third had way too many reused scenes. The second third was far too short to fully develop Hiyori’s character and allow the audience to get attached to her. The transition to the final third by way of Hiyori’s death was also too sudden and I don’t think we were able to get attached enough to her to fully feel the impact of the scene. Finally, the last third was again too short to do justice to the plot, emotion or fighting. In short, the plot progression and sequence of events in the final third was just too fast and hurried.

There was precious little buildup to Hiyori’s Angeroid reveal. Without that buildup, there was no feeling of dread nor was there any emotional stake in the battle. Contrast this to Chaos’s portrayal in the second season. From the very beginning, she was made out to be a real, credible threat and this was amped up gradually and considerably throughout the course of the second half of the second season. This ended with a satisfying climactic battle. With Hiyori, we get none of that. She appears, they do battle, The End.

Not to mention, there was very little to no explanation of various aspects of Hiyori’s Angeroid form. What was that big circular thing on her back? Why does she have such a strong weapon as time control? Why didn’t they use it any sooner? What was that pod that she was in? Was she tricked into becoming an Angeroid?

I was also quite irked to find out that Chaos saw absolutely zero action in the movie. Having seen her released and reunited with Tomoki at the end of the second season, I was really looking forward to see that devilish loli kicking some ass. But alas, that was not to be as she needed ‘further adjustments’.

To tell you the truth, I have no idea how many of the movie’s issues were the fault of the Manga, as opposed to the Movie’s writers, as I have never read the original Manga. From what I understand, the Manga featured a different ending that I felt was superior to the movie’s. Hiyori also has control over weather instead of time…

Still, I wouldn’t say that the movie was all bad. Some of the highlights for me were the comedy and gorgeously animated action sequence of the final third.

Finally, I would like to give a special mention to the brilliant audience whom I watched the movie with. Surprisingly, or should I say, not so surprisingly, there were only 10 girls in the audience versus hundreds of guys.

Being in conservative Singapore, I hardly expected the audience to react at all, especially to the ecchi stuff. But it would appear that (male) Otaku are (male) Otaku, no matter where they are from. All of the guys in the audience clapped, cheered and cried in awe at all the panty shots, cosplaying Hiyori scenes and perverted antics of Tomoki. I would say that the audience made the movie experience that much more enjoyable.

In conclusion, I don’t think Sora no Otoshimono: Tokeijikake no Angeroid is a horrible movie by any stretch of its imagination. However, it does have significant problems that will let some fans down. Not only is the movie awkwardly segmented, the first third of the movie takes up way too much of the run time and, in turn, affects the pacing and character development.