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| 5. Iodine
 
If Oji Tanaka doesn't particularly look like the average anime
hero, this is not unintended. Black
Heaven is one of the few sci-fi
anime that is actively seeking a more middle-aged audience, so its middle-aged
hero, a disenchanted salaryman who yearns for his glorious youth in a hard-rock
band, is tailor made for them. The plot involves a group of aliens with a finicky
secret weapon, who find Oji's guitar playing is the key to their victory, giving
him a second chance of sorts to fulfill his dreams. Overall, the series comes
out rather mixed. The setup is undeniably strange, the characters are all a little
off balance, and the humor depends more on empathy than genuine wit. Also, though
the themes are more mature, they aren't always handled with the necessary gravity.
Certainly Oji's relationship with his wife Yoko could've used a little more screentime,
and Layla's trio of silly underlings, a lot less. The
animation is a little on the weak side, but not noticeably. The character designs
are unconventional and appealing. Since this is a space adventure show, there
are plenty of the usual alien bimbos and flashy motherships lying around. Sadly,
the music that the series places so much emphasis on, is pretty lackluster. Songs
are repeated over and over with different variations, but wind up losing effectiveness
with each round. The plot has a tendency to wander, and peaks early, running out
of steam by the finale. The show is best at capturing the idea of nostalgia, and
its importance, in the midst of a pretty standard sci-fi story about alien invaders
and a hero looking for inspiration. It's only the trappings that are different,
and they provide an interesting, if not wholly successful change of pace. |
| 4. Corkscrew
Black Heaven, or as it was titled in Japan, Kacho
Oji, is a rather strange bird when compared to most anime titles. There is
a distinct lack of high schoolers saving the world, rampaging giant robots, extensive
stock footage or wacky crossdressing. Instead, we have a show about a man, Oji
Tanaka, who has settled into his daily grind of wake, work, dinner, sleep. In
his more lucid moments, he recalls his days as a heavy metal king, the lead guitarist
of the up-and-coming band, Black Heaven. At the outset of the show, he wakes to
find his wife has thrown his last remaining vestige of those days, his old Flying
V guitar, into the garbage, he succumbs to depression. It is at this point that
a coworker, Ms. Layla Yuuki, offers him the chance to play once again (as well
as offering him more than one come-hither stare). He drunkenly accepts, and from
here, he is catapulted into a conflict near Earth's orbit where his music is the
only weapon left that can save his planet. "Hard Rock Save The Space",
as the wonderful Engrish tagline proclaims. Black
Heaven might seem like a pretty simple show at first, but the story really
drew me in. Oji's attempts to balance his family, his job, and his newfound "playtime"
are a good source of laughs, and in the end, the story is more about Oji growing
and rediscovering the things in life that make him happy than about space battles
or heavy metal. There are a few awkward moments, such as the clunky CG animation
at some points (watch the bus going by early in the first episode... ugh), or
the slightly repetitive music, but these are more than smoothed over by the simplicity
of the story. Black Heaven is a fun watch, and a great diversion from most
other shows coming out these days. |
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