region2 DVD: pub: Revelation Films. FUN72001. 1 DVD 115 minutes 5 * 25 minutes episodes plus extras. Price: £16.99 (UK). Dual Language: English, Japanese, Japanese with English subtitles.

check out website: www.revfilms.com and www.spiral.tv

My first encounter with the Japanese medium of anime was when I became hooked on 'Marine Boy' when I was a child, back when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. There followed a hiatus of more years than I care to remember until 1994, when I saw 'Akira' for the first time.

At that time there wasn't a lot of anime or manga available in the UK and what was here was usually not that great ('Odin', anyone? 'Dangaioh'?) However, the then-new cable Sci-Fi Channel started showing anime late at night...

To start with, I watched everything, gradually deciding what I didn't like - mecha, and soft and fluffy shoujo (with the exception of 'CLAMP', of course. 'CLAMP' still produce some of the most gorgeous artwork this side of paradise) - and what I did like:- cyberpunk, occult, mystery and straightforward Science Fiction.

In the UK, it's still a little difficult to get hold of some of the more unusual anime, but with the introduction of multi-region DVD players and on-line ordering (and a couple of dear friends who have been happy to feed the obsession!), my collection is, I think, quite respectable and growing, as is my manga collection. Along with absolute classics like 'Trigun' and 'Cowboy Bebop' (in my not at all humble opinion still two of the best series ever made) and works by Miyazaki (god) and Yoshiaki Kawajiri (may his light never die) I have some mainstream - 'Saiyuki' ('Monkey' in anime), 'Vampire Hunter D', 'Fruits Basket' and 'GetBackers'. Some less well known, the eerie, haunting and heart-breaking 'Wolf's Rain', 'NightWalker', 'Darkside Blues' and some really rather obscure, 'Ai No Kusabi', 'Mirage Of Blaze' and 'Legend Of The Blue Wolves'. Yes, some yaoi, too. Can't have a decent collection without 'Yami No Matsuei', 'Fake' and 'Gravitation...

My collection is well up in the hundreds and I'm still avidly buying. An American friend once mentioned a Floridan bumper sticker she'd seen: 'Anime: more expensive than drugs.' To that I'd add: And twice as addictive!

Anyway - Spiral!



"I'm going to pursue the mystery of the Blade Children."
With these words Kiyotaka Narumi vanished without trace.
Two years later, Kiyotaka's disappearance still haunts his younger brother Ayumu...'
(From the DVD back cover)

Seventeen year-old Ayumu is a cross between a young and angsty Sherlock Holmes and a rather less nerdy Jonathan Creek. His brother was a genius, a world-famous pianist as well as a brilliant detective. Ayumu has a distinct inferiority complex, despite the fact that he's a very good pianist himself and also a genius when it comes to solving crimes with his police detective sister-in-law Madoko Narumi (whom he lives with and cooks for). Yes, he helps his sister-in-law solve crimes, even though he's a high school student. Hey, this is anime, it happens! His feelings of inferiority have led him to give up the piano (so he insists) and more or less also give up on making anything of his life, slacking at school and basically not giving a damn about anything because he believes he'll never be able to move out of his brother's shadow.

He's latched onto by that staple of anime archetypes, the cute, bouncy, perky, big-eyed young female possible love-interest. Usually they annoy me, but Hiyono is actually useful. She's the editor of the school newspaper, her data-gathering skills are pretty good, makes an excellent foil for Ayumu and is quite funny in her own right.

Murders start happening around them and, before they know it, they're swept into some sort of conspiracy involving the Blade Children. I don't want to give too much away, but we meet three of these outwardly very attractive individuals in the first five episodes and they are, to say the least, not the sort of people you'd want to meet on a dark night. The one I'll mention here is Eyes Rutherford (supposedly English: I do wish anime/manga writers would get advice on naming English characters from an English native!) and a world-class pianist (yes, another pianist!) with a deadly agenda. He also starred in a commercial for an 'exotic sport's car' which may seem inconsequential except that we see the advert and as it fades the word SPIRAL appears across the bottom of the TV screen. No, I have no idea if it's relevant, but the story as far as we've watched it is full of little hints and clues that make sense later on, so I assume it will be...

On the stylistic side, the artwork is very pretty. The animation is not overly sophisticated. There's a lot of use of the 'talking head' style. Fortunately, it works here given the nature of the story but not shoddy either. The characters have surprising depth for what is essentially a children's anime and they develop as the story progresses. I even watched a little of it in the English dub, especially for those philistines who can't be bothered to watch the 'Japanese with English sub-titles' version (and shame upon you! It's always far better in the original) and was quite impressed. The English voice actors sound really quite similar to their Japanese counterparts, something that is far too rare in my experience but then again, I rarely watch the English dubs, so I could be wrong...

It has a 12 rating, so to be absolutely fair I watched it with my 12 year old son. In Japanese with sub-titles, of course, which he opts for without prompting. We both thoroughly enjoyed it and he was very miffed that we don't have any more episodes as he really wants to know what happens next.

A note on the special features. Apart from the history of the Magic Square, these aren't all that interesting, though they're always nice to have. The game looks like fun, though we haven't played it yet. The character guide information is the same as on the website.

This would be a good anime for anyone who has never watched any before. It's accessible and attractive. The story is intriguing with sufficiently familiar elements not to feel too strange and the anime quirks aren't too overt. Overall, highly recommended.

Joules Taylor
http://www.wavewrights.com