Today’s image slightly smaller than normal due to BOST TV being unable to provide larger-size HQ video files. I can tell you, though, that there is nothing quite like watching the first episode of Tower of Druaga on your portable video-playing device whilst driving around the rural countryside looking at high water levels with your family and trying really, really hard not to laugh obnoxiously loudly. Especially during the tentacle rape scene.
The first episode, of course, has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with anything whatsoever. It’s not even a good episode to judge whether or not you’d like the rest of the series. What it is, however, is a hilarious send-up, pastiche, and mockery of generic RPG plots, such as (gasp!) the one found in the Namco original game Tower of Druaga. It’s an incredible way to start a series, and, while I’m somewhat upset that the first episode didn’t really show us what the series was going to be like, I must admit, it is vastly entertaining. From the joke featured in the post title (which was one of the best moments of the episode) to the aforementioned tentacle rape scene, to the numerous overstaged and ludicrously overdramatic character deaths and general nonsense talking, it’s clear that, at the very least, the writers of the series are capable of pulling off humor extremely well. We only get to see about three minutes, total, of the reality of the series, however, but I’d assume that, if the humor is this good and well-executed and written, the rest of the series should be adequate, and possibly even much better than that.
I am still slightly worried that the series will become the typical Gonzo “let’s have an action-fest of a series” and forget to do other kinds of things along with it, such as be interesting to watch, but 1) it’s done by the Last Exile/Brave Story director, Chigira Koichi, and 2) I didn’t mind the style of the seven episodes of Romeo x Juliet I saw (but I’m a sucker for Romeo & Juliet in general, and it’s still back on my backburner of “things to do”), so, based on these two trends, I’m cautiously hopeful. I’m not expecting it to be a complex and involving character drama–I would be legitimately crazy to expect that–but, as it’s going to be about the fighting anyway, hopefully there’ll be some kind of hook to keep me interested. If they keep the spirit of the first episode alive and adopt a somewhat lighthearted tone throughout the rest of the series, rather than try to be drama, then we’ll probably be fine.
Interestingly, on the legality front, I opted to go for BOST TV, as it appears that they’re the ones responsible for the suntitling, and I don’t particularly trust Crunchyroll (although apparently they’re the ones offering the HQ downloads for a fee), but at any rate I purchased an episode of anime and watched it totally legal. I’m excited. As the BOST TV thing has a weird point system, and I didn’t know about the season pass voucher thing before I bought the first episode, I’ll have to spend a tad bit more extra on it, but that doesn’t bother me too terribly much, as this is a concept I have been pushing and pushing for, so I’m going to support it as much as I can. I’ll have to deal with low-quality encoded-for-PSP video files, too, but they are DRM-free video files, and much appreciated for that.
At this point, my prime concern isn’t whether Tower of Druaga is a good series or not, but whether Gonzo’s release strategy will succeed. I hope it does. I’d much, much rather pay a company money for the privledge of watching anime, rather than deal with a set of shady and unknown fansubbers who may or may not be making things up as they go along. It’s a risky thing Gonzo’s trying, but, for the sake of the industry, I hope Tower of Druaga succeeds. The other one they’re doing, Blassreiter, well, I know nothing about it, but hopefully it will attract enough of a paying audience to make this venture a good idea. And this is an idea that I think needs to succeed.
Anime wa Bakuhatsu da! 