Throne of Games

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Over the past couple months I have been watching The Game of Thrones with my girlfriend. It is a series that she is a rather big fan of and enjoys a lot. Naturally she's all up to date on the show but she's been re-watching the old episodes with me and I've been having lots of fun. The other week we finally managed to finish the first season of the show. I figured now would be a good time to put in my thoughts on the whole thing.

The show has a pretty good budget and the acting for the most part is pretty well. Some children actors sound a bit silly and some other actors come off flat but the performances are strong over all. I found myself hating Joffrey quite a bit and rooting for Tyrion even through all his treacherous acts. Big kudos have to go to Jack Gleeson and Peter Dinklage for giving those characters such life. To me other noticeable characters of interest where Ned, and his daughter Arya. Unfortunately the end of season one brought a cruel fate to Ned. What has happened to Arya is really interesting though. The character Snow has been one of my favorites as well. He's got somewhat of a hot blooded streak but he's smart enough to know the time and place. He's an interesting character to watch, especially after he's put on duty at the wall.

Each episode during this season succeed in one uping the last by the end of its run time, usually putting in a twist or sudden event that would shock the audience. The overall show was lots of fun, and the character development was handled really well as lots of characters have really grown and come into their own during these 10 episodes. The mythology of white walkers and dragons is really interesting and I'm dying to see what is beyond the wall. The first season ended with quite a cliff hanger that makes me feel like the story is just beginning and that I've only seen the prologue to something even greater. I'm pretty excited to see season two.

Hanging out with the Captain

Space Pirate Captain Harlock has been one of Leiji Matsumoto's most famous and beloved icons from his career. A strong free hero; stoic yet loyal, an enviable man with everything, yet a sad lonely man who has lost his greatest friends. Captain Harlock has survived and stayed in popular culture for more then 30 years. I recently started to watch the OVA series Captain Herlock: Endless Odyssey (Herlock being what the romanization originally was planned to be but never caught on). I bought the first volume for only $4 and decided to just dive in and give it a go. After sitting through the first volume (the first four episodes) I was very impressed with what I saw.

The story is set after the events of the original Harlock anime in a time where space piracy seems to be at its end with a huge government crack down. Harlock has long since disappeared from the world, his crew disbanded, and is just the stuff of legends. The series has a sad and bitter feeling to it, as the world is run down and the government oppression is laid on thick. The days of sailing the stars freely are lost. But out of no where Harlock reappears and flies his flag of freedom again. And just in time as an ancient horror of demons called Noo have been unleashed.

The direction of the series is top notch and its no wonder why with Rintaro working storyboards and direction duty the series ends up with some pretty breath taking moments. The Leiji Matsumoto spirit of men being strong and free independent spirits lives on as well. The sound track is another strong point with a sad Blues Jazz score which farther cements the feeling of how run down and corrupt the world has become. I saw the show dubbed and it wasn't anything special but the dub was actually a lot better then I thought it would be.

In the first volume we watch the rise of Harlock again, the new enemy's plans begin to take shape, an attack on Earth that will surprise everyone, the corruption of the government, reintroduce the character Tadashi Daiba, and watch Harlock break his former crew out of jail. Overall a lot happens but the pace never feels rushed. In fact at times it feels slow, which is a big plus in my book. I've really enjoyed this first volume and I'm looking forward to watching the next 9 episodes.