25.7.06

Sticky Crisis 2040

Having a hard time sending the last disc of Bubblegum Crisis 2040 back to Netflix. Watching the last four episodes makes me want to turn off all the internets and televisions and radios and just sit and stare and think, which might be why I want to keep it around.

See, I knew just starting to write about it would help work this out. There are plenty of scifi stories out there about the line between man and machine and what happens when people cross it IN THE FUTURE. I think this one stands out because you care about what happens to the characters in the end, thanks to good development throughout the series. There were many times when I thought, "well, that's it. they're hosed now." And it kinda made me sad to think that The Good Guys might not actually win this time.

But of course they do. And the conclusion to the series is about as perfect an end as I've ever seen. It's touching. It's well paced and lit with the proper musical background. It leaves you feeling like the job was done, but with enough questions left unanswered that you continue to ponder after the credits roll. Just what is the nature of man's relationship with it's machines? What are the qualities that define humanity? And could God be eternal and still know what it means to die?

It did leave me wishing I could redo the entire soundtrack. I found the main character's singing gigs more annoying than anything, if only because they lacked the polish of say, BECK or Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu ep. 12 (which might be expecting a bit much, since this single episode reset the bar for animation quality in a televised anime). And hearing all the same voices on the english dub that were in Nadesico, particularly having the same seiyuu for both Maki and Akito, was somewhat jarring, although Linna and Nene's were very well done.

Nigel's was just awful.

Oh well. Now I've clarified all that for myself. Time to rip!