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It’s the exciting new series that has the animation critics calling it even better than Voltron and Macron-1…combined!
The Omega Skies centers around a boy destined for greatness. This boy, Renton Thurston, is a fan of the latest craze on the planet, SKY SURFING! Sky surfing is so popular that not only do people do it, but robots as well! However, what he couldn’t predict was that his love of Sky Surfing would lead him to meet a mysterious girl named Eureka!
Not only that, but she’s friends with the most out-there rebel and Sky Surfing pro, Holland!
Joining Holland and Eureka on their custom-made radical airship, the “Gecko,” Renton’s life is transformed as he too realizes he has the potential for greatness, especially when the alien menace, the Coraelians arrive! Action-packed fights explode everywhere the Sky Surfers go!
But just when you think the story’s over, there’s more! Don’t look below this line if you don’t want to ruin the big events in The Omega Skies!
Xam’d is an interesting show, and having finished recently, I know a lot of people aren’t quite sure what to think of it. Throughout the series, the story seemed to come in piece-meal, characters’ motives appeared ambiguous, and there just wasn’t a lot of information to go on from episode to episode. It was like the vital parts of the story were being dropped into the pond off-screen and we were simply watching the ripples.
But this is why I’m telling you to rewatch Xam’d, or at the very least the first episode. The second too, if you’re feeling daring.
I know it seems odd to say that if you maybe didn’t like a show that you should first watch through the whole thing and then watch it again, but what I’m telling you is that a lot of what we might call vagueries in Xam’d turn out to be anything but in retrospect. It is only because we have so little information at the beginning that everything about Xam’d seems so hazy.
With all of the character introductions in episode 1, those brief first encounters with the cast of the show, they at first hardly seem like people. You get bits of information in regards to who they are, but it’s still very difficult to form any opinion on them. But go watch them again, and you’ll see that their first appearances speak volumes about the characters. In episode one, when Ishuu is calling for someone to wake up Nakiami and tell her to get going, Nakiami’s already at the hangar ready to leave. Prior to that moment we see Nakiami silently ordering Akushiba to wake up and then immediately changing her clothes in the same room. It’s mainly in hindsight that one realizes that this hints strongly at not only Nakiami’s attitude but also her relationship with Ishuu.
There’s also other, smaller things.
Just look at the yellow rings.
Or the Opening.
When it comes to monster designs, I follow a philosophy of more disturbing = better monster, and I have specific ideas about what is the most effectively disturbing. The key is not to make something grotesque or to show off the monster’s capacity for violence and destruction but instead to take what is familiar and twist it into something unsettling. The goal is for the monster to exist on just the other side of the uncanny. As an example, let’s look at the Hiruken Emperor from Xam’d: Lost Memories.
Something familiar to all humans is the anatomy of the human body and the Hiruken Emperor’s is close to that of a human being. It has two legs, two arms, head and torso with organic musculature, but the stiff, unnatural movements combined with its expression-less face make it difficult to discern its intentions. When it’s a machine, this only makes sense. When it’s a living breathing creature, it becomes uncanny.
The Hiruken Emperor also takes the comforting idea of symmetry and distorts it into something jarring. Symmetry is a recurring theme in nature. Most things on this planet have some degree of symmetry, but in the case of the Hiruken Emperor the symmetry is too perfect, and the viewer is made painfully aware of that fact. With such perfect symmetry on such an organic creature, the comfort of natural symmetry is replaced by a fear of the alien.
Taking organs and placing them in unusual areas can further enhance the unsettling appearance of a monster. In the case of the Hiruken Emperor, the eyes are utilized in unusual ways. The Hiruken Emperor has four eyes, and none of them are where they should be. Two large ones are placed roughly at the shoulders, one equally large is above the head, and there is also a smaller one inside the head behind the white mask. It’s this unusual placement of the Hiruken Emperor’s eyes that really make it disturbing. Eyes are also an especially effective part of the body to move and rearrange because of how important they can be in human interaction. Human beings easily reveal their emotions through their eyes. However, the Hiruken Emperor’s eyes fail to exhibit emotion, and the blank, all-consuming stare of the Hiruken Emperor eats into your expectations.
A monster doesn’t have to resemble a human being or living creature in order to be a successful design. Manipulating how much the viewer relates to the monster will also influence the effectiveness of the monster. Making the viewer unsure of whether or not they can relate to the monster will make it even better.
It’s an interesting time in anime, and there’s plenty of stuff to be grateful for.
Thanks, Anime, for providing affordable DVDS of series loved by all types of otaku, from Gurren-Lagann to Ouran High School Host Club to Aria and beyond.
Thanks, Anime, for making strides to becoming more accessible. Strike Witches isn’t what I’d call a show I’d recommend to others, but I commend GONZO for putting itself out there. And while some of you may have made a few missteps, like Sony with your super-expensive PS3 episodes of Xam’d, I’ll still be there to buy the DVDs.
Thanks, Anime, for having an incredible season this year with something for everyone, with fine work in practically every genre and sub-genre. With this, I have no regrets.
Thanks, Anime, for your plans to give us an Ultimate Crossover Pretty Cure Movie that we’ve been waiting for since Max Heart ended. I look forward to the 11-girl Ultimate Crossover Pretty Cure Finisher. It’s also thanks to this image that I realize that the more athletic Precure girls have tanner skin. You learn something everyday.
Thanks, Anime, for slating a Professor Layton Animated Movie scheduled for 2010. I’m not even kidding.
And finally, Thank You for an incredible year of Ogiue, JAM Project, good friends, good opportunities, and so much more.
Takehara Akiyuki
Nishimura Haru
Nakiami
Teraoka Furuichi
Nazuna
Kakisu Toujirou
Benikawa Ishuu
As you might know, I have been looking forward to Bounen no Xamdou, now known as “Xam’d: Lost Memories,” ever since it was announced. I’m a big fan of Eureka Seven to the extent that I bought all the DVDs individually as special editions (when those editions were available) as a show of support, and I expect good things out of the show.
I was surprised when I found out that BONES is doing a legitimate and subbed worldwide release. “This is a good thing,” I thought. The only problem is that it is a pain in the ass.
The only way to get the episodes legit is to download them from the Playstation Network. That is to say, you have to spend $400-$600 on a Playstation 3 before you can actually download the episodes at $3 US per episode.
C’mon, man. I want to give you money but you’re just making it difficult.
Depending on how things go, I might heed OGT’s suggestion and simply pay for the episodes legitimately but download the torrents anyway. Either that, or I’ll have to wait for the DVDs.
Oh, and to get it out of my system, here’s some additional puns.
Xam’bot 3
Sha-Xam’d
Okay, I’m done.
Finally got around to watching the trailer for Xamdou. It’s very short, so there’s not too much to say. Check my previous post for information on how to view it.
The video focuses on a boy and his transformation into what I assume is the titular Xamdou. An object appears out of his forehead and causes him to transform into a white humanoid creature vaguely resembling the final form of the Nirvash in Eureka Seven.
And speaking of Eureka Seven, I got tired of people making FLCL references to it back when it first aired, so I’m sure I’ll be enjoying the comments about the vague similarities between Xamdou emerging from his forehead as compared to Naota and Canti.
The music is electric guitar-heavy (as in, that’s all there is to the music in the trailer), and from what little I can see of the environment, the world of Xamdou seems to resemble Eureka Seven in that parts of it are somewhat ravaged and there’s some kind of significant military presence.
I think there’s some hope that this might somehow relate to the Eureka Seven universe, based on just the look and feel of the show, but it’s really anybody’s guess and can probably just be chalked up to having the same team working on both shows.
…But man, Xamdou and Nirvash really do look similar.
Bounen no Xamdou has gotten a proper trailer at its official site
Unfortunately it can only be viewed in Internet Explorer, but it’s a small price to pay for a delicious taste of what’s to come from Bones and the Eureka Seven team.
I haven’t had the chance to really watch it, but expect an opinion and some screen caps (for those of you not wanting to deal with the hassle of IE) soon.
Who’s a Xamdou?! What’s a Xamdou?!
It’s the most pressing question simply because the pedigree of this project does not have me worried AT ALL. BONES announced that they’re doing a new anime, and it’s using the staff of my beloved Eureka Seven, including my favorite character designer Yoshida Ken’ichi. And looking at the main site, I have no worries here either. This splash image just does everything right that it possibly could. A prominent, well-designed main character. A highly unorthodox being or robot or something tells me that this will be different. Or it’ll be a lot like Eureka Seven which is FINE BY ME.
There might even be the possibility it somehow relates to Eureka Seven. Would I prefer it? Maybe, but I will prefer whatever results in a better story.
I’m so looking forward to it, I’m going to give Xamdou its own category on this blog.
Watch out for it.
