Review of Wonderful Days (2003) by Paul F — 25 Feb 2005

(My third "6" in four entries. Mediocrity festers in me.).

I forgive you, anime.

I have to, because anime--most anime--is pretty terrible. Sure, it's often visually amazing and has some jaw-dropping images and unique ideas, but at the same time, much of it is as horribly, mind-numbingly cliched as any Michael Bay film. There are exceptions, like Miyazaki's output or the likes of the ubercool Cowboy Bebop or the ubernuts FLCL, but most of it looks great, and is saddled with some of the worst dialogue and character situations that you could possibly come up with.

Don't even get me started on Akira. I like it, but it's... silly. Silly Akira. Silly Tetsuo.

But I forgive anime most of the time simply because it is so damn cool looking. [i]Sky Blue[/i], a Korean feature film making the theatrical rounds, is like that. It's got some great images, a neat premise, and what would be a superb climax... if you gave a crap about any of the characters.

You don't, though. It doesn't matter. I forgive you.

[i]Sky Blue[/i] takes place in 2147 AD, after acidic (or something) rains have been falling for a hundred years. Much of humanity has taken refuge in a "living city" called Ecoban, while a less fortunate society, known as the diggers, work for the Ecoban people for shelter but live underneath the city itself. Blue Sky is the story of one digger sent to destroy Ecoban, which will restore balance to the world's environment. Or something.

Like a lot of anime, [i]Sky Blue[/i] isn't particularly good at explaining itself, which is a shame, as the premise and situations have loads of potential. We get glimpses of Ecoban, but we still have no idea about the type of people that live there. We get a little bit more about the diggers' town, but we basically just understand that they're destitute, with no real glimpse into the culture itself.

Sky Blue is, sadly, a lot more interested in exploring... sigh... the love triangle between the digger on a mission, the Ecobanian sent to kill him... AND THE GIRL THAT COMES BETWEEN THEM. Ugh.

Now this would work if, say, the characters were given any sort of personality or humor, but they're the same, morose, staring-into-space-shows-you-how-deep-I-am anime staples that have been showing up since Asians first discovered how to draw. There's also a crazy guy that shoots things and freaks out, a big tough guy that doesn't say much, an old wise guy with a plan, and a bad guy who smirks.

(deep breath) I forgive you, anime.

I forgive you because [i]Sky Blue[/i] looks great. Ecoban itself is so vividly created that you can just bask in the beauty of it and ignore all the, well, plot crap going on at the front of the screen. The action sequences are great, the little creatures running around are cute without being nauseating, and the climax looks bloody amazing.

My advice? See [i]Sky Blue[/i]. But I suggest securing a fair supply of narcotics of questionable legality beforehand, as it will help you focus on the visuals and keep your mind off the vapid, useless characters and plot.

Sky Blue.