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Ichibod scratches his Anime itch
Publisher: Madman
Sun, 29 April 2007
by: ichibod
A big hello to the fine people in the Buttonhole audience.
The great, the wise, the majestic Ichibod is back to talk to you about all things Anime after a bit of a hiatus. Our great leader and dictator for life Hillelman has coaxed me back into the fold with the promise of some rather tasty anime.
My first treat is A Tree of Palme, hereafter referred to as ATOP. Admittedly I haven't been keeping up with new Anime releases as much as I should (although I have been salivating over Hellsing Ultimate's
pending releases) and Tree of Palme slipped me by.
 | | Don't worry Pinocchio, severed hands are high in 9 essential wooden boy vitamins |
Essentially Tree of Palme is a retelling of the Pinocchio story (done only as those mad anime creators can) with Palme being a wooden puppet created from a mystical tree that absorbs the memories of civilisations through its roots in the Earth.
Palme is created to take care of his master's ailing wife and after her death loses all power and will to be.
Through a chance encounter with a warrior woman, Palme is given a soul restoring oil and a package he must deliver to the city of Tama.
Palme soon happens upon a bunch of orphaned kids reminiscent of good old Oliver Twist and Fagan (well take away the old Fagan and replace him with a much younger snotty nosed version) who join Palme on his quest.
A well written story did nothing for the fact that half of the characters in this film are well, pointless. I got a feeling that they were not sure who to direct this film to.
A majority of Anime is heavily targeted to teen to adult audiences with its uber violence and fan service.
I know there is some great kid's Anime available and definitely plenty for a softer audience. ATOP seems to sit somewhere in the middle. Yes there is violence, but not much of it. Yes there are softer tender scenes. No there is no fan service.
I found it hard to relate or even sympathise with any of the characters and could not help wondering just who this films target audience was. Just not quite enough violence to put it in the same league as Akira (you'll get the Akira reference in a minute) and not kiddie enough to be a kiddie film.
 | | I could make reference to 'wood' here, and how 'hard' wood can get. But I won't. |
Enough of the negatives. This film was overseen by Takashi Nakamura (chief animation director of Akira) and well I'm not sure that Akira ever ended for Nakamura San.
The animation is stunning and while I was struggling to come to grips with the characters, I never took my eyes of the screen.
The animation is superbly rendered and rates among one of the best Anime films I have seen.
Palme's wooden body and his transformation is a spectacular visual feast to behold.
What I really didn't like about this film is that if you played ATOP at the same time as Akira you would virtually be watching the same film.
I know I need to get over Akira being the be all and end all of anime cult stardom but ATOP reeks of Akira right down to the final battle scenes.
I would love to rate this movie based on its visuals alone because it scores an almost perfect score. But at the end of the day entertainment value is what counts.
At a running time of 136 minutes this DVD is somewhat of an epic that failed to grasp me, and really get me interested. But remember this is only one fans opinion.
One for the kids? Sure, as long as you don't mind them seeing the odd person get slashed open (don't worry there's no entrails) One for the adults? Yes, but only if you watch it with the kids.
by: ichibod
More articles by ichibod
Four buttons for the movie, ten for the impressive visuals | |
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