Unmutual Dubtitles

Last night I saw a commercial which shows a teenage girl going about her life as strangers (ie sinister adults) approach her and ask when she’ll post a new blog. She’s happy prior to each incident, but becomes pensive as more strangers engage her. I guess this is some attempt to explain to kids/teenagers that blogging or internet use in general isn’t a private affair, anyone can see it. It made me feel guilty for not blogging as much I used to. I didn’t catch the whole ad so maybe there was something more to it but she must have an awesome blog to have all these random people in her town reading her stuff. I wish I had this problem. I want more people to read my stuff.

I have been quite remiss on my coverage of anime of late. As a huge anime fan that I am this seems quite odd, but so much to garner my attention from movies, TV, and Xbox. With several days off during the holidays I decided to watch an older series I acquired for around $8 called “Green Legend Ran.” I wish to point out how much I bought it for because I’m an “old school” collector of anime back in the days when anime was only on VHS. Each tape was $30 to $40 and you got like one or two episodes of something on it. These were the fledgling days (the dark ages) of anime when you had to go to the local comic shop for titles. I would save up what measly minimum wage I received to buy a couple new tapes every month or so. Green Legend Ran is a 3 episode OVA (original Animated Video), also known as Direct-To-Video, and as such was sold on three (3) Tapes for about $30 each, or $90 for the complete set. With great satisfaction I can now say I own the series on one (1) DVD and saved about $80 in the process. This time of anime is still a wonder to me. Many older titles are so cheap I can grab them up in bundles.

And, I am happy to report that Green Legend Ran (GLR) was worth it. Pioneer in the early nineties produced quite a few quality OVA’s (Tenchi Muyo! and Moldiver come to mind), not based on pre-existing manga or novels (which tends to be the norm now), but original work that spoke volumes of the creativity of the animators and story tellers. Tenchi was so successful it has spawned several TV shows, movies, and more OVA episodes. Sadly, GLR goes no further than it’s three (3) episodes. What you do get is decent. GLR was animated during the transition from traditional cell animation to CG based work, and as such, looks much older than its 15 years due to the completely hand drawn art. Sometimes the characters look too simple but the backgrounds are all hand painted, no CG anywhere, just the way I like it. The story is nothing new; In the future humanity is fighting a war after ruining the Earth when aliens, known as Rodo, land in giant stature-things and drain all the water and life out of the environment. Over a hundred years later a religion has cropped up around the Rodo (which are still as mysterious as when they landed) and the few people still living have to eek out a life in shanty towns of a post-apocalyptic desert. Like I said, nothing really new, and the first 45min episode is about a teenager, Ran, who has to grow up quick when he gets caught up with terrorists, known as Hazard, that are against the Rodo-based military, which hold a water monoploy over the people. If the first episode is all I ever saw, I probably wouldn’t have continued, but episode 2 (another 45min) and 3 (almost a whole hour) make up for this.

I tend not to like the current batch of teenager anime on TV (Pokemon & Yugioh come to mind) for their sterility, but Pioneer pulled no punches in GLR and people get killed and there are consequences to Ran’s actions. Ran’s mother is gunned down by a man with a scar on his chest and he wants revenge, so he joins the terrorists and learns the scarred-man is the leader. Ran gets involved with a silver haired girl, Aira, who becomes a pawn of both Hazard and the Rodo. Priests of Rodo wander the streets looking for silver-haired chosen ones and kill any child who is an imposter. The true chosen ones have a psychic link to the Rodo and any child captured by the Priests (all deformed in some way), and are tortured until the truth behind the original invasion is exposed, or the child dies. Episodes 2 and 3 are set on the back drop of desert that acts like an ocean, as desert skiffs and battle ships move about. Hazard’s main ship, with Aira as a captive, is attacked by four (4) Rodo ships, taking Aira to Green 5, the main city of the Rodo, and the location of the prophecy of the chosen one. In all this Ran has to put aside his desire for revenge and chases after Aira (he always seems one step behind), whom he realizes is in great danger no matter who possesses her.

This may all seem confusing, but the last two (2) episodes more than make up for the first one in plot and characters. There are cliche characters in a number of places but that doesn’t hinder you too much as you are able to focus more on the mysteries at hand than worrying about a lot of odd characters. There is something in all of this that seems more than familiar and that is because the writers borrowed heavily from the look of the movie Dune. From the desert back drop to deformed priests, these are re-dressed elements that actually work in the story. The ending is a bit predictable though, borrowing from Total Recall it seems, but how the events unfold are interesting. Sadly, they don’t spend a lot of time with the Priests, each with a different deformity due to their proximity to the Rodo statues. The Priests are slowly turning into trees. Weird. If you are not a big anime fan I would steer clear of this, but the title is a good example of the better stuff coming over the Atlantic during the early nineties. The characters become more interesting over time as their secrets start coming out. Ran changes the most over the course of the 140 or so minutes as he starts to make choices about the future, save the girl or kill the dude with the scar.

The DVD itself is the worst aspect of the anime, as it is one of the early Pioneer DVDs from 1998 (prior to them becoming Geneon), and it shows. There is no menu, so you have to jump forward and backward across the chapters on your own. There are two (2) different subtitle tracks without an explanation as to which one to use. The first (and best) are actually “dubtitle,” a fabricated word meaning subtitles of the English dub, not the actual Japanese translation. These tend to be more different than you realize. The second track is closer to the original Japanese but for the hearing impared, so sound effects are also subtitled (usually before the sound, ruining the surprise). I didn’t bother with the English dub, but I was never impressed with early US dub attempts. Streamline (American translation company that made Robotech, under the name Harmony Gold) was the best at the time, but they were going out of business. Maybe in five (5) years someone will make a 20th anniversary special edition and show off this title for the quality that it is.

Speeking of fabricated words I came across one in an episode of The Prisoner; Unmutual. My spellcheck is going nuts on the word as I type it. Unmutuals are people who don’t fit into a regimented society. Specifically “The Village” of The Prisoner, which requires a certain amount of penance from the accused and a small lobotomy. This was all faked for the benefit of Number 6, who was drugged to believe he was lobotomized, just so Number 2 (what an jerk) could learn why 6 left “The Service.” (I’m reminded during 6’s lobotomy scene of “The Host” which has a similar [much more graphic] part, but the lobotomy in the movie was real, the reasoning for it was fake.) This series is a strange “what-if” series for a James Bond type character who leaves the service and is being debriefed in “The Village” with someone playing mind games with him, or he is in the hands of the enemy. It's hard to tell. Only a handful of episodes were ever made, but they were brilliant. And it currently shares the 40th anniversary spotlight with Star Trek as The Prisoner aired from 1967-1968. The episode I watched, “A Change Of Mind,” was a little different than the others (like any two were alike) in that 6 wasn’t trying to escape, just harass everyone around him in charge. I love the image at the end when prison doors slam over the image of him, the metaphor of a failed escape, but in this episode it just seems out of place. 6 did turn the tideon his captors and managed to get Number 2 labeled “Unmutual” with a mob of villagers chasing him off. The Prisoner is open to so much interpretation that anyone can almost see anything, anywhere. My feeling on The Village was that it was all a front and all The Citizens were all designed to elicit reaction from 6. I’m sure there are a number of instances this is contradicted, but that’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

Star Trek had a term Klingons used that was like “Unmutual.” The word is “Discommendation.” it took a while to define in the series, but applied to Worf it meant he was no longer considered a Klingon and neither was his family; less that livestock. Discommendation is harsher that Unmutual but I like these Orwellian 1984 made-up words that define something we already have a word for. Outcast would be fine in both instances, but Unmutual just sounds creepier, implying Mutuals must be happy, law-abiding, do-as-you’re-told citizens. Damn The Man. For those keeping track track Worf was Discommendated as a way of helping the Klingon Empire save face during The Next Generation, Season 3 episode “Sins Of The Father.” It will be some time before he Worf is Undiscommendated or Recommendated or Commendationalized or something. Trust me, Worf survives the dishonor, and the Klingon Empire almost collapses.

Today is Deep Space Nine's 15th Anniversary. The pilot episode "Emissary," a 90 minute feature, aired 15 years ago today. Deep Space 9 lasted seven (7) seasons on the air, from 1993 to 1999. The series lasted so long that while the "Head" of the proverbial snake is 15 today, the "Tail" (in this case Season 6) is 10 years old. I didn't like "emissary" that much, aside from the action parts, when I first saw it in college. I've watched it a few more times since then, including tonight, and I've come to appreciate what the creators of the show wanted to do. This isn't traditional Star Trek and it was the first series made without Roddenberry. His vision of a future of humans with "evolved sensibilities" exporing the galaxy to make the Federation a beter place to live is inspiring, and unique during the 60s (and the height of the cold war and racial tension). He then went on to create The Next Generation, set about 100 years later, with the same ideas that humans put aside their prejudices and try to run a collective group of alien worlds for mutual benefit. There was generally no strife between characters, until Deep Space Nine. The creative staff wanted to make a show where there were issues between people and cultures and religions and the future. This is more real and made for greater drama (or space opera) than the previous two (2) shows. At first the whole idea didn't settle with me, since everyone is on a space station, not exploring anything. But after a year they tackled many more issues and created a grand story arc as the Federation, of the Alpha Quadrant, went to war with the Dominion, of the Gamma Quadrant.

This all starts with a Pilot Episode that introduces us to the galaxy's first stable wormhole, in orbit of Bajor (a planet established during TNG), and a crew of mixed Starfleet and Bajoran nationals working to protect the wormhole while serving on a former Space Station used to mine the Bajor. Renamed Deep Space Nine by Starfleet, the new Commander, Sisko, has some deep seated issues over the loss of his wife and ship during the battle of Wolf 359. To any Trek fan this is the most recognized battle in Trek history, next to the Battle of the Mutara Nebula. Wolf 359 is Starfleet's Alamo against the Borg. Led by Locutus (an assimilated Picard), a single Borg cube wiped out most of Starfleet and continued to Earth, before Enterprise-D stopped them. This battle was only heard over subspace during the two-parter "The Best Of Both Worlds," but "Emissary" flashes back to the battle and shows it to us. This is a huge geek moment in Star Trek history, and it was awesome. Once Sisko takes command we're introduced slowly to the rest of the cast and the religion of the Bajorans and the militarism of the Cardassians, Bajors former occupiers. The part I hated before, but I understand and applaud now, is Sisko's meeting with the "wormhole aliens." They have no sense of linear time or death so he has to use baseball as a metaphor for the human condition. They finally understand and let the Federation use the wormhole for scientific exploration of the Gamma Quadrant. Deep Space 9 becomes the most important "border outpost" on the frontier. Most Trek has shied away from dealing with religion but DS9 embraced it and showed a spirituality to the Bajorans which flares up on more than one occasion as the see the atheistic Federation as evil.

While Deep Space 9 enjoys it's 15 year, the Season 6 episode "The Magnificent Ferengi" enjoyed it's 10th anniversary on New Year's Day. Loosely based on "The Magnificent Seven" (and "The Seven Samurai" before it), the story tells the tale Quark, Rom, and Nog putting a team together to rescue their mother from the Dominion, without Federation help. DS9 became (in)famous for its Ferengi episodes. Either you love them or hate them, there is no middle ground. I hated the Ferengi from TNG but the writers of DS9 were allowed to develop them and they are much better for it. This episode is almost a comedy as three (3) other Ferengi join the group and do a prisoner transfer for Quark's mom. Ferengi and money-loving greedy things, but manage to negotiate their way up the creek without a paddle and save the day. Of note is guest star Iggy Pop as a Vorta named Yelgrun, who has the best line. Quark explains the odd behavior of his brother, Rom, and his mother, "Family. You understand," and Iggy Pop follows up with, "Not really. I was cloned." Perhaps an unintention tip-of -the-hat to the classic episode "Spock's Brain" occurs when one of the Ferengi accidentally kills they hostage to trade and Nog hooks up a device to make him walk down the corridor with the appearance of life, (think Weekend At Bernies). In the classic Trek episode Spock has his brain removed and McCoy must hook up a remote control to make him walk around. I guess in the hundred years since then a Junior Officer in Starfleet can cobble this device together. An amusing story if you can stomach Ferengi. One other nice touch is that every character, save Iggy Pop, who shows up is from a previous episode, helping to push a continuity of episodes. I love Space Opera. See you next broadcast.