|
"Nerima Daikon Brothers"
DVD
Okay, for you anime buffs
out there, what I'm about to tell you is going to put you into full-on
fanboy mode. Or fangirl, depending.
Nabeshin's back.
Okay, stop screaming for a minute...how am I supposed to tell you
anything if you won't stop screaming? Good...now that you've had
a chance to calm down, it's true. Nabeshin, Shinichi Watanabe himself,
has launched up another anime, and if you were around for "Excel
Saga" some of his earlier work and one of my personal favorites,
you know what you're in for.
And indeed, it's all the standard Nabeshin craziness. Three radish
farmers, two brothers and a female country cousin, from Nerima,
apparently (based on the notes ADV so generously provides as part
of the DVD) the radish capital of Tokyo, are desperately trying
to raise money to build a concert dome on their radish field so
that they can spend the rest of their lives singing. One brother
is actively lusting after his cousin. The other, a part-time host
club waiter, has a thing for pandas. Meanwhile, our country cousin
is desperate for a taste of sweet Dom Perignon, and thus spends
her time chasing after money by whatever means available.
Worse yet, the Nerima Daikon Brothers (and this does include the
female country cousin) frequently run afoul of various money-grubbing
types, and thus have decided to steal from these money-grubbers
to get the money to build their dome. This is where Nabeshin comes
in--he's running a shop that will loan anyone anything, except money.
And thus, when the Brothers are in need of hardware to accomplish
their heists, off they go to Nabeshin's shop, where they sing basically
the same song into his window. Nabeshin will then grin, remark on
how much he likes the Brothers, and hands over some impossibly large
piece of firepower (everything from bazookas to tunneling machines)
to aid in their ultimately futile quest.
The casual observer, by which I mean anyone with a pulse and even
a passing interest in American cinema, will notice a whole lot of
similarities between the Nerima Daikon Brothers and the Saturday
Night Live alumni Blues Brothers. This is, apparently, intentional.
So if I were asked to describe, rapidly, "Nerima Daikon Brothers",
I wouldn't have too hard a time with it. Basically, all you've got
to do is cross "Blues Brothers" with "Excel Saga"
and tack on a whole bunch of radishes.
On the down side, it's essentially the same episode every time,
with a handful of specifics changed. Volume one will make that clear.
And yet, every episode is roaringly comic. Somehow, the fact that
they can still make fresh laughs despite rampant plot reuse actually
makes me respect it even more. I find myself wondering, how long
can they keep this up?
The special features include a music video, a sing-along section,
two separate commentary tracks, a track of pop-ups that detail certain
elements of the plot, and a clean opening and closing animation,
along with trailers for "Paniponi Dash", "Get Backers",
"Excel Saga", "Jinki: Extend", "Full Metal
Panic?FUMOFFU", and "Guyver".
All in all, do I really need to say anything more? It's a Blues
Brothers / Excel Saga hybrid from none other than Nabeshin himself.
That's all anyone needs to know.
Nerima
Daikon Brothers
****
DVD
Directed by Shinichi Watanabe
Written by Studio Hibari
Starring depending on language
Produced by Hiroli Yoshida
NR
100 mins
2006
Check
out the Video Store Guy on his own ever-lovin' website. Featuring
never before seen pieces exclusive to Reel Advice! (reel.panel2panel.com)
|
