Nerima Daikon Brothers Volume 1: Speak Softly But Carry A Big Daikon - Ain't It Cool News
- Ain't It Cool News
- Scott Green
- 11/14/06
- click here
"The first volume of Nerima Daikon Brothers is an ideal anime purchase."
"A marvel."
"The show's musical numbers are designed to thrill."
There are two competing threads in the appeal of anime. One is formula and expectedness: patterns known to yield a desired result. Hence, franchises that deliver on expected rewards are some of the most popular. At the same time, fans come to anime because, and expect, new experiences. There is a premium on anime that can demonstrate something different. This is part of beauty of works like FLCL, Dead Leaves, or if you have been fortunate enough to see it, Mind Game.
Visually, Nerima Daikon Brothers is slightly interesting. The rough stylized look does yield some interesting cultural caricatures. But, it is the show's musical numbers are designed to thrill. Nerima Daikon Brothers dresses its characters in ties, black jackets, shades and black hats, wearing its Blues Brothers influences proudly, and embraces the music comedy format. Strictly speaking, animated musical comedies have been seen before, in Looney Tunes, in Animaniacs, in South Park and in anime such as Excel Saga. Yet, with the quantity of musical numbers channeled into the form of manic anime, with the orchestrated fireworks of the performance, the experience should be new enough to thrill many viewers. For anime viewers who appreciate anime as a form, Nerima Daikon Brothers' wild creativity and impressive effort establish the work as one that warrants a purchase. At least for one volume, the Nerima Daikon Brothers is a marvel worthy of rewatching.
Like Excel Saga, Shinichi Watanabe aka Nabeshin levels the framework to create a perverted, volatile assault. The plot follows a quartet of performers. Hideki is a crude, hairy 25 year old daikon (large white radish) farmer who dreams of replacing the family's daikon field with a domed stadium, in which he can perform in front of imagined throngs of fans without inviting noise complaints from his neighbors. His brother Ichiro, a quiet, thin, and handsome young man supports the goal working at a host club (where females pay attractive males for their company). They are joined by their pretty 19 year old cousin Mako, who lusts after luxuries and wealth (and Hideki lusts after her). And they are joined by a pandaikon (daikon panda), a small, fuzzy bear ready to be used in a host of sight gags.
The series features an interesting cast, in terms of characters and performance. Hideki's Shigeru Matsuzaki, whose previous anime role was in the Cobra movie 20 years ago, has a deep range that suits the lead characters rough credible-in-his-own-mind disposition. The same goes for relative newcomer Ayano Matsumoto as Mako, who mixed an unrefined attitude with a sort of throw back pop. The solidly working voice actor of the trio is Shotaro Morikubo as Ichiro, whose other working roles include title roles in Kikaider and Orphen, Ginji Amano in Get Backers and Shikamaru in Naruto.
The tunes are infectious and the accompanying reactionary surprise exhibited by the characters (even if its is muted by Ichiro) sells the jokes.
From an English dub standpoint the cast is far more familiar. Starting with the three principals through the small parts, all the participants step into the strange personalities of the roles and go to the needed lengths to sing in character.
Greg Ayres can't do gravelly quite as well as Matsuzaki, but beyond that, the recreation is amazing. You can put on an episode, not pay attention to the language and not be ware which track is playing. Ayres spearheads an attention commanding dub track.
Luci Christian as Mako captures the essence of the character's personality and offers a consistently entertaining performance, but adds the twist of an American Southern accent. Problems arise because she isn't the only character with the accent and ultimately, the exact meaning of the accent in the context of the anime is slightly difficult to pin down. It sort of suggests a provincial background, but that gets confused when applied to other characters. A tour bus driver who seems to be Korean complicates the issues and the distinction suggests an extacultural dimension that ultimately remained lost in translation.
Chris Patton has a more difficult job in the more subtle role of Ichiro. The joke being that the character is withdrawn, almost nondescript. At odds with the wild circumstances, the impression is hard to vocalize. That he maintains the jokes and protects the character from drifting into bland territory marks an impressive performance.
Even if you rarely listen to English dubs, the performances in the English track challenge the spectacle of the original to a sufficient degree that it is really worth watching the anime at least twice to catch both. (A third time is warranted for the Nabeshin commentary track; unlike many Japanese commentaries, such as the surprisingly dreary Akitaroh Daichi on Grrl Power, Nabeshin's is loaded with personality). The English version does take some liberties localizing the script, as needed to make songs work or to circumvent overly cumbersome culturally native ideas. Some bits, such as the end theme are completely rewritten. These shifts capture the right spirit, even if they change the jokes a bit, and even if one might wonder if the target consumer is really old enough to "drink beer after work too", it works brilliantly.
Despite a bright palette and a high level of energy, you don't have to scratch too much off the surface of Nerima Daikon Brothers to find that the anime operates from a darkly cynical outlook. Writer Yoshio Urasawa must have been in a bad mood or possessing very little faith in humanity, because the series is not exactly a feel good comedy. Both the perpetrators and victims/suckers are portrayed as greedy, opportunistic perverts. The specific episode-targets are modeled after real molesters, crooks and grifters (or politicians/corporate officers/show biz types, same difference).
There is no real effort to soften the leads. They are intentionally uncool, and their motivations are far from altruistic. Basically, they are perusing their desires, but in a highly distractible manner. In terms of sympathy, what they have going for them is that there are less horrid than the reprobates around them. To that extent, the anime does encourage the characters to be cheered as they bring a form of vigilante justice to the real heels of the work.
While this is a global indictment, especially given the shock humor, aspects do get a bit ugly. The "Korean Wave" attack in particular brushes uncomfortably against ethnic stereotypes. It's certainly not unwelcome to find that Nerima is an anime with real attitude and a real perspective. Too many anime series lack concrete, controversial points of view. However, it is worth being aware that Nerima is ultimately not a sunny work.
Nerima Daikon Brothers is steeped in cultural knowledge. It targets specific scandals. It performs call backs to specific comedy routines. Because of its inspired hyperactivity and its song enhanced visual humor, the anime does work if you are unfamiliar with the references. For example the squads of dancing girls who show up almost every episode to guide characters to an ATM from which they withdraw a loan is funny regardless of whether you are aware that it is mocking an ad campaign from a specific predatory lending corporation. While it remains amusing and yields plenty of solidly effective gags, detached from its original culture, the impression is that the jokes are zannier than they are cutting. This means that they don't always flow as smoothly as they might from the satirical situations. Shinichi Watanabe's work is probably far more multileveled if you catch the references. Without recognizing the nuance, the work seems a bit broad, unsubtle and perverted. To really localize this thoroughly, and replace equitable references, would probably invite law suits.
The paradox of Nerima Daikon Brothers is that while the first four episodes inspire repeat viewing, they don't leave a strong desire for more. It's like a card trick. You marvel. You play it over to try to figure it out. You're glad you saw it. But, you're not looking for the next card trick.
The direction of these initial episodes, particularly the last would seem to indicate that the series suffers from diminishing returns. Even at a slim 12 episodes television series, the concept would probably have been better served by a highlight, nothing held back OVA series (if the direct to video release model was still viable). Familiarity with the formula damages the effectiveness of the outrageous comedy. While the tunes are certainly catchy, being able to hum along actually leaches away an infatuation with the series, which relies on blowing away the viewer to operate properly. When the pattern of re-used melodies with inserted lyrics becomes obvious, the anime begins to overstay its welcome. The problem is hastened in the fourth episode by an extended joke concerning the relationship between a police chief and a yazuka boss, the point of which is incomprehensibly flat enough to smother the episode (and it is not saved in the dub by heightening the gay joke aspect). The first volumes of Nerima Daikon Brothers is an ideal anime purchase. Beyond that, it looks like the series is going to rest on particular tastes.
Posted on Tuesday, November 14, 2006 (Archive on Thursday, December 14, 2006)