Oishii Furesshu: Famous First Edition

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig

Those who were lucky enough to buy the recent Manga release of Stand Alone Complex will be glad to hear that there is a second series to come when all the DVD volumes are eventually released.

The series takes up not long after the first series left off, though this time around the central story arc concerns a group named the Particularist Eleven, a seemingly terrorist faction involved in the increasingly worrisome refugee problems.

Whilst the first series features what seem to be ‘stand alone’ episodes which over the 26 episodes gradually reveal the arc of the Laughing Man, in the second series the references to the main arc seem more overt, though whether this is to do with the fact that you become used to looking for such references after watching the first series I’m not sure.

As with the first series, this is dialogue-heavy, a lot of plot involving high level political chicanery interspersed with brief but intense action sequences – anyone who has seen the first series will no doubt be looking forward to a similar sort of thing.

Episode 16, though, is densely packed with plot. In the space of one show you are witness to the internal conflict of the government agencies of Japan, all intent in protecting their own interests and shifting responsibility, whilst the Prime Minister struggles to get some cooperation in order to deal with the possibility of a mass refugee uprising.

We are also treated to a character history of one of the Particularist Eleven, Kuze, which also grants us an insight into the Ghost in the Shell world – four world wars, the related refugee influx, the re-emergence of an American Empire and Japan’s attempts to establish military and political independence.

By having all this directly related to a main plot character, the series makes the neat trick of being able to tell us all about the world the series is set in without it seeming like the story had to halt while this takes place.

Toward the end of the episode we learn a bit more of just how involved Gouda, the head of a rival intelligence/defence agency, is with the refugee crisis.

If you have the first volume of the UK DVD I can confirm that the series only gets better, stick with it!

Final Approach

Final Approach is best described as a romantic comedy and one of the types where our hero, a schoolboy, is suddenly beset by a female intruder into his life-not a usual female you understand but a robot, alien, mutant, demon or any other fantastical version of cute young girl you could think of. In this case; the girl (called Shizuka) is a government agent.

Ryo Mizuhara and his sister Akane live peacefully together, going to school and working part-time in a restaurant, when one day this tranquillity is shattered.
Shizuka bursts into Ryo’s life, and it seems she is the result of him being selected for a government programme which intends to reverse the falling population of Japan by arranged marriage. After fierce protest, Ryo realises it won’t be easy to get rid of Shizuka, especially due to the large numbers of sinister men-in-black government agents she has helping her!

Eventually Ryo tries to date a school friend, Emiho, to try and convince Shizuka that there will be no marriage, but it may not be as easy as he hopes.

Final Approach doesn’t have a story arc as such, each episode throws up a situation that usually gets Ryo in hot water and involves Shizuka’s use of seemingly unlimited government funds to solve problems.

It’s a very enjoyable little series, and I mean that literally. For some reason each episode is only about 12 minutes long, and that includes full opening and closing songs! It’s an ideal series to dip into, seeing as its short and the story can be picked up again easily.

Just released is episode 10, where we learn that Shizuka’s father has more than a passing resemblance to a Bond style Evil Genius. The plot thickens.

Beet the Vandel Buster

“It is the Dark Century, endless days of terror and fear created by the Vandels, monsters who plot mankind’s demise. However, there are warriors who courageously fight against the Vandels. They are the light of hope. Their name: Vandel Busters!”

And thus begins Beet the Vandel Buster.

At first glance, Beet seems like another series for kids, along the lines of Digimon, Pokemon and YuGiOh, backed up with a marketing campaign and design to hook the kid’s attention and cash. Especially with the talk of levelling up and experience, which make the events in the series seem more of a game than real (in this world) events. Even the ad break sequences bring to mind a franchise animé representing heroes and villains on what look like trading cards.

But after a while, the enthusiasm of our hero, Beet, grows on you and you do want to follow his adventure to end the suffering caused by the amusingly camp Vandels.
Beet acquires some special busting powers from the group led by his brother Zenon, and promptly goes off for a few years to hone his skills. On his return, he is just in time to help his cousin Poala, who has also become a Buster in his absence, to defeat the Vandel menacing their village – Tactician of the Swamp of the Dead Mugain.
Then Beet sets off on his mission to end the Dark Century, with Poala in tow. They soon meet Jiiku, an experienced buster who is envious of Beet’s power (represented by Saigas; weapons that top busters earn of which Beet has an unprecedented 5) but their fighting is soon stopped by the Vandel Melmond of the Silver Demon Hand, whom Jiiku and his friends Ryuku and Raku have been pursuing. But will they be able to best Melmond’s Silver Freezing?

I wouldn’t recommend Beet above a number of other series, but it is by no means a bad show and the little touches like the Vandels’ names, the saiga-use cut scenes and the fact that the Vandels have a hotel where they meet and buy monster minions all help make this an enjoyable little show.

This is a good show for those looking for something a little different, a more simplistic good vs. evil tale that’s fairly light-hearted.