Hopefully this isn't a trend of turning this blog into a nerdy anime review site. This will give the reader the wrong impression that I am some sort of uber anime nerd. Yeah, I watch a few shows, but I only have enjoyed a few. Cowboy Bebop, the Giant Robo OVA's, Miyazaki movies, Satoshi Kon, and the work of Studio 4C. Other than that, I find the "genre" (a funny term to use for basically an entire industry that cranks out works of all sorts of genres) to be kind of stale because for all of its inventiveness, every story is told in the same sort of anime "voice". The same staples come out and to casual viewers are either confusing or annoying and to a person who (being japanese) kind of grew up with alot of it... it becomes slightly embarrassing. This isn't to say that popular American television isn't full of awful things. I'm just used to it, I suppose. This is a thing people have to remember when they say "oh, i don't like anime." It's just an entire culture of television, and like any large group of pop cultural products, you are bound to have your bad and average things and sometimes, very rarely, something great will pop up.
Not that Beck is that "great thing", but it is very good.
Perhaps I am biased though. A long time ago, maybe over ten years ago, I saw a movie on television called Cotton Candy. Later I found out that this was some lame tv movie done in the 70's by Ron Howard. It was about a high school kid (played by I believe Charles Martin Smith of The Untouchables and Never Cry Wolf) who starts a fun little pop rock band to defeat the resident "cool" band in a big Battle of the Bands. I LOVED this movie. Was it good? NO. But it was about a band. Apparently I will watch anything involving music and the camraderie that forms in the making of it. Once? Check. The Commitments? Check. That Thing You Do? Check. MUSIC & LYRICS??? Check! And I liked each one. Don't get me wrong, I love the occassional rockumentary (DiG! was brilliant) but sometimes you just wanna see a fake ass band MAKE IT!!!!!!!!
(Seriously though, Cotton Candy... fun shit.)
BECK is an anime series about a young boy, about 14 years old, named Koyuki Tanaka (I think... I don't really recall) who is sort of a shy losery type. He eventually discovers the power of ROCK N ROLL and learns how to play the guitar and joins a band called, surprise, BECK. Alot of sites had cited this show as SUPERCOOL! but what I really enjoy about it is how UNCOOL it is. Sure, it tries to get all cool with how super awesome the lead guitarist for BECK is supposed to be. There are anime moments about "his skills are unsurpassed!" but then the objects of power are not crystals of power but vintage Telecasters. I suppose that IS cool. The uncool part is how boring life outside the band seems, but not in a bad way. The show seems to capture the NEAR poetry of how mundane everyday life is while still working in a love story that unfolds with little drama but still in a sweet sad little way. When Koyuki joins the band, one almost believes his life will immediately become awesome and the show will take flight in a ROCK N ROLL!!!!! Guitar Wolf kind of way. But instead his life, like in real life, doesn't really change. And it's all the more beautiful for it. The show does build to a big climactic point, but then moves past it in a gentler way and the very ending is realistic and totally uplifting. Sweet but not too saccharine.
All of this praise however comes with small prices. Certain characters speak English, and while the bad english is kind of forgiveable when it comes to Japanese characters (although they DO try to sound kinda cool too and fail), it is also unforgiveably bad when spoken by AMERICAN characters. This took me out of the show but not enough to hate it.
Is the music good? Not really, though I enjoyed a few songs. You can't make a large scale project about a rock band that is supposed to be AMAZING without making some concessions to the crappy music throne but some of the pop songs that BECK performs are pretty great. At least in the context of the show. Definitely better than say... The HEIGHTS (anyone?).
I will add that I love the theme song of the show and wish it was a song the band played.
The art for Beck is also noteworthy for it's beautifully painted backgrounds. Nothing super stylish. In fact, almost the opposite, the show is more slanted towards the realistic end of the anime spectrum.
I do have one big beef which is (SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!) in the Japanese release of the show, a main character performs "I've Got a Feeling" by The Beatles by himself as basically the big climactic moment of the series. In the American dub, it's a different song because of rights, understandable. In the japanese dub however, it is also different. And if the song was okay, it would make sense, but basically the dude sings the same boring verse OVER AND OVER ("I've Got A Feeling" is a long song and in the show the scene lasts a LONG TIME.) This would be awesome if it had the build of the original song in the Japanese release (I've heard it and it's great) but instead... it nearly destroys the big moment. The melody the character sings is totally fine, but more laid back, and in the context of the show, the beauty of "I've Got A Feeling" is how naked and open the exclamation is. How the melody rises. All of it is an exclamation that builds and builds on itself. It's not just a song... it's.. A FEEEEELING!
This is totally lost in the change. So if I next go to Japan, you know I'll be getting the DVD there of that episode.
Bottom line: This show is great if you are not into "anime-feeling" anime. However there are a few things that are VERY "anime" in it. It's a tough sell but if you can get past its faults and get into the "mode" of it, it's an amazing series. For music loving anime nerds who can get past the fact that the music isn't awesome, just the fact that the people making it are.
Grade: B+
Not that Beck is that "great thing", but it is very good.
Perhaps I am biased though. A long time ago, maybe over ten years ago, I saw a movie on television called Cotton Candy. Later I found out that this was some lame tv movie done in the 70's by Ron Howard. It was about a high school kid (played by I believe Charles Martin Smith of The Untouchables and Never Cry Wolf) who starts a fun little pop rock band to defeat the resident "cool" band in a big Battle of the Bands. I LOVED this movie. Was it good? NO. But it was about a band. Apparently I will watch anything involving music and the camraderie that forms in the making of it. Once? Check. The Commitments? Check. That Thing You Do? Check. MUSIC & LYRICS??? Check! And I liked each one. Don't get me wrong, I love the occassional rockumentary (DiG! was brilliant) but sometimes you just wanna see a fake ass band MAKE IT!!!!!!!!
(Seriously though, Cotton Candy... fun shit.)
BECK is an anime series about a young boy, about 14 years old, named Koyuki Tanaka (I think... I don't really recall) who is sort of a shy losery type. He eventually discovers the power of ROCK N ROLL and learns how to play the guitar and joins a band called, surprise, BECK. Alot of sites had cited this show as SUPERCOOL! but what I really enjoy about it is how UNCOOL it is. Sure, it tries to get all cool with how super awesome the lead guitarist for BECK is supposed to be. There are anime moments about "his skills are unsurpassed!" but then the objects of power are not crystals of power but vintage Telecasters. I suppose that IS cool. The uncool part is how boring life outside the band seems, but not in a bad way. The show seems to capture the NEAR poetry of how mundane everyday life is while still working in a love story that unfolds with little drama but still in a sweet sad little way. When Koyuki joins the band, one almost believes his life will immediately become awesome and the show will take flight in a ROCK N ROLL!!!!! Guitar Wolf kind of way. But instead his life, like in real life, doesn't really change. And it's all the more beautiful for it. The show does build to a big climactic point, but then moves past it in a gentler way and the very ending is realistic and totally uplifting. Sweet but not too saccharine.
All of this praise however comes with small prices. Certain characters speak English, and while the bad english is kind of forgiveable when it comes to Japanese characters (although they DO try to sound kinda cool too and fail), it is also unforgiveably bad when spoken by AMERICAN characters. This took me out of the show but not enough to hate it.
Is the music good? Not really, though I enjoyed a few songs. You can't make a large scale project about a rock band that is supposed to be AMAZING without making some concessions to the crappy music throne but some of the pop songs that BECK performs are pretty great. At least in the context of the show. Definitely better than say... The HEIGHTS (anyone?).
I will add that I love the theme song of the show and wish it was a song the band played.
The art for Beck is also noteworthy for it's beautifully painted backgrounds. Nothing super stylish. In fact, almost the opposite, the show is more slanted towards the realistic end of the anime spectrum.
I do have one big beef which is (SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!) in the Japanese release of the show, a main character performs "I've Got a Feeling" by The Beatles by himself as basically the big climactic moment of the series. In the American dub, it's a different song because of rights, understandable. In the japanese dub however, it is also different. And if the song was okay, it would make sense, but basically the dude sings the same boring verse OVER AND OVER ("I've Got A Feeling" is a long song and in the show the scene lasts a LONG TIME.) This would be awesome if it had the build of the original song in the Japanese release (I've heard it and it's great) but instead... it nearly destroys the big moment. The melody the character sings is totally fine, but more laid back, and in the context of the show, the beauty of "I've Got A Feeling" is how naked and open the exclamation is. How the melody rises. All of it is an exclamation that builds and builds on itself. It's not just a song... it's.. A FEEEEELING!
This is totally lost in the change. So if I next go to Japan, you know I'll be getting the DVD there of that episode.
Bottom line: This show is great if you are not into "anime-feeling" anime. However there are a few things that are VERY "anime" in it. It's a tough sell but if you can get past its faults and get into the "mode" of it, it's an amazing series. For music loving anime nerds who can get past the fact that the music isn't awesome, just the fact that the people making it are.
Grade: B+
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