:anime: The After-Review:: Alien 9

Welcome to the party…

(Click here for the preceding review!)

The After-Review: Alien 9

Sometimes, there are things you would like to say in a review, but quite can't for any variety of reasons—don't want to spoil anything,\; too trivial; doesn't really fit in; would really like to say that about a character; but it's not the place, etc. A review tends to be a more formal, focused, and thoughtfully laid-out piece, so I thought, "Why not have something like an "after-party"…but for reviews?"

This originated following 2011's Highschool of the Dead review, as I really wanted to touch on some specific points in the series and talk a little more candidly about it. As badly as I wanted to, I lacked the time to pull it off, and once I actually did, too much time had elapsed where it made any sense to do so. Though I've done other reviews since, I either did not feel the need to do one or thought I had too little to say to warrant one.

Well, Alien 9—thankfully—lends itself that opportunity, so here we are with HardDoor's first ever "After-Review"! Like a good ol' after-party, an "after-review" is much more informal and casual. There is no real format, anything is fair play, and we might go a little off-topic (but magically stay on it!). "Don't want to spoil anything…too trivial…doesn't really fit in…would really like to say…", it's all OK here, and we might go a little bit "behind-the-scenes", too. And since spoilers abound, you have been warned—just now. (Really: read this after you've watched the show. We can wait… ;) )

So grab a favorite beverage of yours from the bar (I'll take on the root beer float), loosen up the tie (don't know what the ladies can loosen up, just be careful nothing pops out, 'kay…), and kick back as we talk a little bit more about Alien 9…

>>…Or "Alien Nine". It's the rare equal billing in terms of anime titles, though "9" seems to take precedent…

>>So yeah, about that ending…

>>That was certainly one of the most surprising ones you will find around, and oddly appropriate, too, for a depressing mindf--- of an anime (and that wasn't a putdown!). Naturally, it was also a tad aggravating that it would end right there—and know that it will never say another word about it. I got the feeling that we would not see anything more beyond that given the type of series that Alien 9 was, and unfortunately, I was correct…

>>In the manga, Kumi managed to survive the incident, but her stomach and a number of other organs were eaten. Her body was reconstructed in a similar manner to Borgs, but the process went much quicker than expected, turning her into a human-Borg hybrid. And after everything, she unable to have any children, either. Alien 9 in a nutshell…

>>Can you tell it was made by a Tomino disciple? "Kasumi Tomine?"

>>If you are thinking what you are thinking about Kasumi (beyond that)…basically, yeah.

>>The manga only gets more visceral, tense, dark, dire, sad, and screwed-up after its adaptation's stop point, including a little more Yuri yuri…

>>I'm sure some might not be able to stand yuri's Yuri's crybabying, but I thought that it, and her overall personality, worked well within the story. Given everything that happens, it's hard to blame her, and her ride doesn't get any less bumpy…

>>On that note, I always get a kick out of the fact that Yuri's actually the oldest of the three (born June 8, 2002) and the mature, de facto leader Kumi is the youngest, being born on Sept. 11 (apparent grade-skipper Kasumi was born only less than a month after Yuri, on July 1)…

>>**flipping through the manga** Hitoshi Tomizawa's an interesting guy…

>>Kuniaki Haishima, where art thou?

>>Though not using his typical score stylings, he was a perfect fit for something like A9. If I looked at the series without any music backing, and was asked who'd be the best choice to supply the score, I would have chosen him. Come back, dude…

>>I don't usually get emotional watching anything, but it's hard not to feel something when Kumi, alongside Yuri, is calling her mother at the end of the Yellow Knife incident. The actresses in both the Japanese and English performances completely sold that scene and the way it was done was powerful, too, solidify the job everyone put into the series.

>>Who has it harder: the girls of Alien 9 or the girls of Madoka Magica?

>>I wonder what a new, complete adaptation of A9 would look like. As much as I would like see someone just pick up where the OVA left off, and despite how good it looks 14 years later, that's unlikely, especially when everyone's moved on from 4:3 to 16:9 (and no, don't delude yourself into thinking about cropping the original picture to 16:9 and moving on from there. Forced widescreen is to 4:3 as a bad toupee is to a balding person's head…). I would hope that CGI is kept to a minimum as before, the budget is kept high, and it, too, remains faithful. But in that regard, doing the first half over feels redundant, too, as the OVA did all of that really well. But hey, Evangelion 1.0 turned out pretty nice…

>>I know it's simple and befitting her personality, but Kumi has some pretty nice fashion sense for her age…

>>The manga's great and lingers on even after you are done. Those are the kinds of story I tend to look back on more fondly than others (a la 5 Centimeters Per Second; Now and Then, Here and There; Shiki; TEXHNOLYZE (if you can really look back fondly on those last three…or all of them…)). I suppose it's only natural. And since I'm done revisiting the anime, it's time to dive back into the manga, and then—finally—Emulators, which I was super-fortunate to find not only a good, well-priced copy of, but one in tip-top condition.

>>Nothing beats hearing Ash Ketchum say "No s***". That might have been even more satisfying than the unavoidable "Gotta Catch 'Em All!"shout-out in the dub script (being a NYC dub, with many of the VAs also doing Pokemon, and A9 being what it is…c'mon it HAD to happen…).

>>If you'd like to see more information on the series, Alien Nine Unofficial Website is currently as official as it's going to get, since the official one went offline a while ago. Still, it's one of the better and most nicely-designed fan sites you'll see on the Net.


Well, that is all for this inaugural "After-Review". I hope you enjoyed Alien 9 and this, and thanks for reading it (and hopefully the review too!). Now, drive home safely (or with a designated driver)… ;)

—HD