by dm00
All you folks kvetching about the on-again/off-again sequel to Black Rock Shooter should just relax.
The second episode of Hoshi ni negai wo, a pair of OVAs that are part Lain, part Matrix, and maybe a little bit of Clannad, showed up a few days ago.
Hunt it down and watch it!
The first episode, Cold body x Warm heart introduces us to Hikari Stellamaris, her mother (a sentient computer that runs her ship, the Armadillo), and their world. While surfing cyberspace, Hikari encounters a floating blob, which she loads into a bit of spare hardware, to discover that it’s the preserved consciousness of a forgotten video-game programmer. They have a few adventures, dodging the firewalls and antivirus software of their universe.
In the second film in the Hoshi no negai wo series, Fantastic Cat, Hikari meets the doll-jointed Lily,
The girl was all alone in the world.
encounters a cobbled together plush Cheshire Cat,
Nyaa.
and brings about the end of za Waruldo.
At first, Lily can only see Hikari framed in her camera’s viewfinder, but, when Lily tries to chase down the elusive cat, she surprises Hikari on the roof of the school building, where they agree to pursue the cat together.
A tale of memories.
But the anti-virus software appears once more to give them chase,
Norton Antivirus was never like this.
and it turns out that the cat is a key to Lily’s past, and maybe Hikari’s, too.
Crouching tiger, hidden meaning.
Hikari could teach Keanu Reeves a few tricks.
Short films like this give me hope for the future of anime. It’s not a gem of a science-fiction tale-telling to rival Eve no Jikan, but it’s a promising start.
Barnum Laboratory is a studio to keep your eye on.
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TheBigN
nomadotto
dm00
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When I watched the first episode while back, it certainly had a unique look, but I thought the CG needed more refining to feel less machinic (the girl especially, moved too much like a doll). As you say, it’s not a gem but doing something more different like this is definitely gives better hope for anime industry.
I think they made some great strides in the animation between the first part and the second part (though, actually, I didn’t really notice any problems with Hikari’s movements in the first part).
She is pretty impassive a lot of the time, though, but that’s how Miyuki Sawashiro plays her character, too, so it works (for me). And her lack of expression in general makes those times when she does react — like when the Atlantis security monster materializes out of the ether in Fantastic Cat — a lot more effective.