Ben
11-05-2005, 11:38 AM
Human Crossing sounds like a good idea: an anthology of adult-oriented dramas, each exposing the difficulties of a different set of social relationships. Unfortunately, the intriguing concept is almost its only advantage.
The visuals are the most obvious and biggest disappointment. Yes, this isn't an action show, but there are minimal standards below which a cartoon, even a drama, lacks believability. Human Crossing is too lazy to reach these standards in every respect. The designs are utterly run of the mill, as simple as possible. Some characters only have dots for eyes. The animation is near-nonexistant. Even when the show manages to tear itself away from its suffocating overabundance of pans, the jerky, robotic characters hardly come close to approximating movement.
Adding to (or perhaps caused by) the visual problems are plots that plod along with all the dramatic urgency of waiting for a cat to spontaneously explode. A somnalent piano score doesn't help matters. The three episodes on this disc concern an overzealous novice prison guard who learns to treat her female inmates humanely, a family suddenly intruded upon by the mistress of a dead grandfather and an artist and his wife who rediscover their love by returning to Paris. The two dubs are decent enough (with the exception of the Parisian characters on the Japanese track), but the actors are limited by their awful material.
The first two episodes are plagued by flat characters. The prison guard's "lesson" is infantile and predictable, and the climactic shot, in which the now-experinced main character passes on her knowledge to a new recruit surrounded by cherry blossoms, is sure to elicit either giggling or gagging. The only interesting character in the second episode, the mistress, is drowned out by the unreasonably obnoxious wife, whose final mysteious conversion appears to take place purely for the plot's convenience.
The final episode is bearable thanks to two relatively well-conceived leads. Eiji and Miho were married in the Paris of the 70s, but when they move back to Tokyo Eiji stops painting for himself, choosing commercial art instead. Eventually the two grow apart and Miho decides to leave Eiji and return to Paris. The setting and theme give the episode some zazz, but even here the inexcusably shoddy character design work undermines the storytelling.
It's hard to pin down just who would want to watch Human Crossing. Its melodramatic stories might appeal to bored middle-aged women with low standards, but when was the last time you saw one of those in an anime store? Ultimately, Human Crossing is a decent idea botched by too many cut corners. Better luck next time.
The visuals are the most obvious and biggest disappointment. Yes, this isn't an action show, but there are minimal standards below which a cartoon, even a drama, lacks believability. Human Crossing is too lazy to reach these standards in every respect. The designs are utterly run of the mill, as simple as possible. Some characters only have dots for eyes. The animation is near-nonexistant. Even when the show manages to tear itself away from its suffocating overabundance of pans, the jerky, robotic characters hardly come close to approximating movement.
Adding to (or perhaps caused by) the visual problems are plots that plod along with all the dramatic urgency of waiting for a cat to spontaneously explode. A somnalent piano score doesn't help matters. The three episodes on this disc concern an overzealous novice prison guard who learns to treat her female inmates humanely, a family suddenly intruded upon by the mistress of a dead grandfather and an artist and his wife who rediscover their love by returning to Paris. The two dubs are decent enough (with the exception of the Parisian characters on the Japanese track), but the actors are limited by their awful material.
The first two episodes are plagued by flat characters. The prison guard's "lesson" is infantile and predictable, and the climactic shot, in which the now-experinced main character passes on her knowledge to a new recruit surrounded by cherry blossoms, is sure to elicit either giggling or gagging. The only interesting character in the second episode, the mistress, is drowned out by the unreasonably obnoxious wife, whose final mysteious conversion appears to take place purely for the plot's convenience.
The final episode is bearable thanks to two relatively well-conceived leads. Eiji and Miho were married in the Paris of the 70s, but when they move back to Tokyo Eiji stops painting for himself, choosing commercial art instead. Eventually the two grow apart and Miho decides to leave Eiji and return to Paris. The setting and theme give the episode some zazz, but even here the inexcusably shoddy character design work undermines the storytelling.
It's hard to pin down just who would want to watch Human Crossing. Its melodramatic stories might appeal to bored middle-aged women with low standards, but when was the last time you saw one of those in an anime store? Ultimately, Human Crossing is a decent idea botched by too many cut corners. Better luck next time.