Movie Night Madness – This Week in Anime

Coop


Chris, I am thrilled to say that we’re living through some unprecedented times (positive) for once! They said it could never be done, but the legendary Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? will be officially screened for the first time in North America at this year’s Anime Expo! However, there’s not only that, as GKIDS is screening the beloved Adolescence of Utena across the country at the end of this month!

But you might ask, “Hey, Coop. What do intergalactic idols and sword lesbians have in common?” Well, both of these films come from a very specific tradition of anime film—the complete reimagining. These works forgo the simple TV series compilation film format (like the Mobile Suit Gundam Trilogy or the Jujutsu Kaisen films) and opt to create wholly new works that seek to distill the core concepts of a series to their essence. Among Western anime olds and critics, Do You Remember Love and Adolescence of Utena might be the best-known examples of this approach, but they’re FAR from being the only films of their kind.

Adolescence is an excellent example of a film that plays in that exact space.

Among a certain contingent of Utena enjoyers, the film reads as a sequel to the series. While I can see where they’re coming from, it might be better seen as an “emotional follow-up” rather than a straight-on sequel. In grand Kunihiko Ikuhara fashion, most (if not all) of the interpretation is left up to the audience. Is it a sequel of some sort? A riff on everything Utena, including the manga? A jaw-dropping work of art that can be enjoyed on its own? Oh baby, it’s all of that and then some.

When it comes to the Utena watch order discussion, I always think back to Sylvia’s initial encounter with the series through this film. The two of us spoke at length on the series earlier last year, and I could feel just how much that chance encounter with Adolescence of Utena had changed her life.

And I’ll say this too: this film is a perfect cap-off to Pride Month, exuding the kind of energy many of us in the queer community want to put out into the world, especially now. The world is terrifying, and there might not be a clear path forward, but fighting to live as our true selves is so worth it. Adolescence is equal parts horny, harrowing, and breathtaking.

This isn’t going to be the case with many of the other films we’re about to cover, but Adolescence of Utena is streaming over on RetroCrush. The film is otherwise out of print in North America, so hopefully these upcoming screenings signal a potential home video release from GKIDS. Maybe the series too! I wholeheartedly believe that everything Utena should be easily available and in print—it’s just that important to the medium. Luckily for me, I already have Nozomi Entertainment‘s Blu-ray release of the film (which came packed in with the final arc of the TV series), but boy would I love a 4K of this one!

Oh yes, I do!

DYRL has loooooooong been embroiled in the exhausting legal quagmire surrounding the series, but I’m thrilled to see that it’s finally getting to play for an American crowd. I’m unsure if this will signal a larger change behind the scenes, because this could simply be an exhibition screening, which had been unsuccessfully attempted with a 2013 Comic-Con screening of both Macross Frontier films. But like those Frontier films, at least there’s a brand-spanking-new Japanese release of the film with English subtitles.

The conversation around its licensing situation will probably be the top-level point around DYRL for years to come, but the film itself is abso-lute-ly gorgeous.

I took a look at that aforementioned 4K UHD release of the film early last year, and it’s a film everyone should see at least once if they’re at all interested. DYRL served as the explosive springboard for Shōji Kawamori, Ichirō Itano, and much of the Gainax generation. These once-hungry creatives wanted to blow the work they’d done on the original Macross TV series out of the water, and they absolutely crushed it. However, as I pointed out in my review, DYRL suffers from a pain point present in many films of this nature: dealing with its extended cast. In some cases, this isn’t too much of a problem, but the cast of Macross plays a load-bearing role in the story. The film either turns these characters into insulting caricatures (as is the case with Roy Focker) or into a background cameo. DYRL‘s main love triangle is strong, but everything else kind of falls apart as a result of that increased focus. The insufferable bits of misogyny sprinkled on top of the film don’t exactly help it either.

Again, DYRL is worth seeing solely for the spectacle and sheer artistry on display, but the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross TV series is unmatched in its storytelling. Even if you have to deal with some wonky animation from time to time.

Move over, white boys, it’s depressed girl summer now.

She’s locked in on the current day’s mood.

Kidding aside, I quite appreciate how understated and true-to-life this depiction of depression is. Many of us (myself included) have experienced these exact feelings before, and Escaflowne isn’t beating around the bush in regard to them. Honestly, I found the film to be a powerful allegory for dealing with these feelings, with the “allegory” part kicking in once Hitomi gets isekai’d.

By the way, I don’t know if I’m alone on this, but did Escaflowne remind you of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, too?

I totally understand that, Chris. Admittedly, this flick is a bit controversial among Escaflowne enthusiasts, primarily for its heightened emphasis on intense violence and sidelining most of the supporting cast. Like, it’s kind of hard not to be scarred after you see Van gruesomely explode a horse with his mind. Seems like some folks are coming around on this, but not many. This might be my personal favorite of the Kawamori-flavored reimagining films, as the streamlining of characters actually worked for me here in regard to our main couple. I’d also like to point out the strong overall direction from returning series director Kazuki Akane (who’s directed many under-discussed classics). In an interview about the film, I recall Akane speaking about the specific struggle of boiling down a twenty-something episode series down to its essence for a 90-minute movie, but I think he does a pretty solid job here given those parameters.

For sure, I have the same feeling largely about DYRL these days. I can’t fully put my finger on it, but I think my enjoyment of Escaflowne might be tied to that pacing. It’s structured and paced like a 90-minute ’80s fantasy or action film, not unlike Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. There are paper-thin elements for sure, but something about it just clicked with me. I’m sure many other folks feel similarly about DYRL, even though I have my criticisms of it.

I love that we have to specify the Labyrinth we’re talking about now. Ha ha ha.