Anime Column] 100 Anime to Watch by Keyword! 100 Anime to Watch: Vol. 8 "WXIII Mobile Police Patlabor" and more

Drinking parties among anime fans tend to be a game of association. When someone says, "XXX has XXX scene," someone else replies, "Speaking of XXX scene, don't forget XXX. Anime and animation are connected by invisible threads like this. Let's follow the "anime to watch" using keywords as clues.

With the success of "Shin Godzilla," the keyword for this year's "100 Anime to Watch" is "Monsters. However, "monsters" and anime do not go hand in hand. Monsters originated in tokusatsu movies and special effects programs, and their huge size and creatures have not become "mainstream" in anime, perhaps because it is difficult to express them in anime.

However, in the aftermath of the monster boom, monsters passed through the filter of "mecha," and were transformed into robot animation and other forms of beat-up roles, and incorporated into anime. The iron beast mecha in "Science Ninja Squad Gatchaman" and the mechanical beasts in "Mazinger Z" are early examples of this trend. Incidentally, such mecha were called "monsters" at the production site.

If one were to look for a work in the anime genre that focuses on monsters in a straightforward manner, the movie " WXIII: Mobile Police Patlabor " would be at the top of the list.

The film is an animated feature film based on the episode "Waste No. 13" from the manga version of "Mobile Police Patlabor. It is a spinoff work that stars the detective duo pursuing a case.

A transport plane crash in Tokyo Bay. Later, an incident occurs in the bay area where a reaver is attacked by someone. Two veteran detectives from the Jonan Police Department, Kusumi and Hata, a young detective, begin to pursue this case, which eventually leads to a major incident.

The story of "WXIII" follows a very orthodox "monster story," starting with the discovery of a small anomaly that no one notices, and ending with the appearance of a monster, and the fact that the key to the plot is to become aware of the monster's habits. The storyline of "WXIII" follows a very orthodox "monster story. Although "Patlabor" is a robot animation, it is more appropriate to call it a monster movie in terms of content.

The monsters in this film are characterized by their biotechnological background. The fact that technology is involved means that this is the work of humans. Thus, the story of this film is both a monster movie and a crime movie at the same time, leading up to the tragic final scene.

I have already mentioned that the mecha that are beaten up in robot animation are a "subspecies of monsters," but this "subspecies" will eventually reach a period of decline. This "subspecies" eventually entered a period of decline, with the rise of the so-called "realistic robot anime," in which robots are used as weapons.

However, a new type of anime emerged that successfully revitalized this "monster subspecies. It was " Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Neon Genesis Evangelion" is based on a setting in which Evangelion, a general-purpose humanoid battle weapon, fights off apostles in a variety of forms.

The apostles are characterized by their very unique shapes, which are neither biological nor robotic. Earlier, I mentioned that the huge size and creature-like appearance of monsters are not suitable for animation. In fact, the design of the apostle is an answer to the statement that "anime is not good at creating monsters. The apostle, with its lack of detail and geometric shape, is a perfect match for the expressive characteristics of anime, which is "bordered by solid lines and painted with colored surfaces. Unlike " The Ultraman," which was more of a special effects film, this is a sophisticated expression unique to anime.

This "monster specializing in anime expression" continued after "Evangelion," with "Heterodyne" from " Die Guard " and "Neuroi " from " Strike Witches " being its "successors.

In terms of monsters, the movie " Prince Charming's Extermination of the Serpent " is one that should not be forgotten. The film is based on Japanese mythology, with Susanoo as the main character, and the climax is a great battle against the Yamata-no-orochi.

The film is characterized by a flat, design-like screen, but during the aerial battle with Yamata-no-orochi (Susanoo rides his heavenly horse, Amenohayakoma, through the sky), the screen composition sometimes becomes three-dimensional, which in fact deepens the vivid impression of the battle. Moreover, the music for this film was composed by Akira Ifukube, who has composed many monster movies, most notably "Godzilla. This should be enough to convince you that "Prince Charming's Extermination of the Serpent" is in fact a "monster movie,

Thirty-six years later, in 1999, Toei Doga (now Toei Animation), the company that produced "The Little Penguin", released the movie " Digimon Adventure ".

Set four years before the TV series, this episode depicts the first encounter of the still young brothers Taichi and Hikari Yagami with Digimon. The film is only 20 minutes long, but the highlight is a full-scale monster battle between giant Greymon and Parrotmon in an apartment complex at night. The use of lighting in the nighttime scene accentuates the size of the Digimon, making it an appealing "monster" story.

Monsters and animation may seem close, but they are further apart than one might think. Will there ever be another step forward in this relationship?　And when it does, what will the approach be?

(Text by Ryota Fujitsu)