Red Garden, Volume 1 - Anime Kakumei
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"looks darn good"
"sleek, appealing, and distinctive visuals"
Announced as one of the four big Gonzo acquisitions ADV Films picked up this year, Red Garden is the first to see release. On the box, it’s tagged as “from the makers of Gantz and Hellsing,” sort of pegging it as an action series of some kind. At least in my mind. However, at this point, if you take Red Garden as an action series you will be disappointed. While it does share some basic similarities with Gantz, they stop soon after the first episode. Red Garden is a much different show. One with good potential even though it trips coming out of the gate.
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Studio: ADV Films
Genre: Drama
Format: DVD
Length: 100 mins.
MSRP: $29.98
Features:
English 5.1
Japanese 2.0
Clean Opening/Closing
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Red Garden takes place in a modern day, fictional version of Roosevelt Island, New York City. Kate, Rose, Claire, and Rachel are all students at a very prestigious high school on the island. Rose is a shy girl who won a scholarship to attend the school. Rachel is a very popular, trendy girl who is quite into the social scene. Claire is a tough girl who has been going through some personal and monetary troubles up to this point. Finally, Kate is a good girl coming from a rich family who is a member of “Grace”; the school’s elite group of students. One day, each woke up feeling very uneasy and unable to remember the events that transpired the previous day.
At the same time, Lise, a beloved student and friend to each one of the girls, is found dead in the mountainside. The school is racked with grief as each girl tries to cope in their own way. However, that night, the four are called together by a group of red butterflies only they can see. Surprised by their meeting and the circumstances surrounding them, the group is approached by a stern, authoritative blond woman named Lula. She informs the girls that all of them are dead. Not only that, but now they have to fight and kill a strange looking dog-man with only their bare hands before it kills them.
Right off the bat, the most striking feature (besides the upbeat, bright opening animation and song “Jolly Jolly”) of the show is it’s character design. As the show is set in America, it seems the designs have taken on a distinctly more slender, realistic look to them. Hairstyles, clothing designs, accessories, and facial features are all much more detailed than you would usually normally see on both the girls and the boys. Styles you would more likely see in a shoujo manga. Paradise Kiss for example. Each character has their own style which plays up to their personalities nicely. Rachel is on top of the fashion scene, Claire goes for more athletic or casual wear, Rose wears more subdued dresses, while Kate tends to dress more formal. It’s a nice touch that I think is overlooked a lot in animation.
Another nice touch is the animation itself. Red Garden is a unique title in that it was animated after the original voice work was finished. As such, you will immediately notice that the lip flaps match up almost flawlessly with the original Japanese work. To be honest, I didn’t notice this at first but when Kate (and later, the whole group) started to sing a song, the difference become clear as crystal. As an effect of this process, the characters seem to reflect the actor’s performances rather than the actors reacting to the character’s already planned actions. It’s a nice detail that helps the show a good deal.
As I mentioned before, the show does share similarities with Gantz in that these girls are dead and must kill these things so that they can continue on “living” out their normal lives. They are now under the service of the enigmatic Lula. She claims to run a funeral parlor, and given that she is the one responsible for reanimating the girls, I would bet that she definitely does something to that effect. She calls on the girls, usually at midnight, to do battle with these strange dog-men (generic men in suits that change and run around on all fours with glowing eyes, growling like dogs). If they can continue to do this the girls will be able to continue their lives as normal. Well, as normal as you can when you’re dead…living…something. They will also be able to discover the connection between them and their friend Lise and possibly find out just what the hell is going on.
It is there that Red Garden is both a hit and a miss. The girls are called to action to kill these creatures, but the action is very average and borderline boring. Perhaps it’s the fact they have to fight random, generic and stupid monsters with no back-story given up to this point. These things aren’t scary in the least and I can’t help thinking that when the girls scream in terror, it’s because they’re confused at the situation rather than this thing is actually threatening. The amusing dialog between Rachel and Claire during the first fight backs me up on this. There some hints of some sort of special abilities coming into play later on though. So, we’ll see where that takes us.
No, it’s not the action that will bring you back to Red Garden, but rather the potential. The potential for really interesting and creative character development as the show moves forward. Even though the girls are technically dead, they are also technically alive. Meaning they have to continue their lives as if nothing happened. Life goes on and the school year continues forward. The girls still have their friends, families, and other situations to concern themselves with outside of this dogman-busting business.
How will each one of the girls deal with their new situation? Both Kate and Rose choose to continue to attend school and to attempt a normal life. Claire puts her nose to the grindstone to attempt to find out more. Rachel, on the other hand, the situation has already started to affect her in interesting ways. As the series goes on, I really expect this aspect of the show to come together as the stress of their new, unique lives takes it’s toll on each of the girls. On top of that, the show’s more vague mysteries should play themselves out.
Red Garden looks darn good with it’s sleek, appealing and distinctive visuals, but it stumbles a bit at the start. Lackluster action, generic monsters, and a slow moving, vague plot-line hinders the show up to this point. However, it looks to slowly take it’s stride when you settle in and see how these characters deal with the situation they have been placed in. That really kind of sets itself up for something interesting down the line. At least I hope so. There’s definite potential there and I would hate to see it go unrealized in such a visually appealing show. If the action gets a nice boost in quality as well, this show could really take off.
Posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 (Archive on Thursday, October 25, 2007)