Review: Pumpkin Scissors 1

[nebroadwe]

Back when I attended Otakon, I was annoyed to have missed most of ADV's showing of the first episode of Pumpkin Scissors (especially since I had forced myself to sit through the entire first episode of Air, ack ptooie!). Well, as part of the marketing rollout for the R1 DVD release, the good folk of IGN are streaming that first episode (dubbed), as you may see below the cut.

Not bad for an introductory episode. Randel Oland is a character type I enjoy: the self-deprecatory expert with a troubled past, possibly looking for redemption, possibly just for the chance to do better things with his talents. Alice Malvin, our female lead, suffers from a rather silly case of gung-ho syndrome -- I like her driving sense of noblesse oblige, but it's much more realistically presented in her quieter moments than in her "Over the top, men! Now!" ones. As Oland observes, "I can't believe you took on that tank. A rational person wouldn't try that." It makes you wonder how she survived three years of relief work. Oh, well, this is a Gonzo coproduction, which means it looks gorgeous but may wander off-track when it comes to coherence in characterization and storytelling. My, what a lovely tank the bad guys have. It's a shade too 3-D for its backgrounds, but in the dark, misty, and creepy skirmish at the end you won't notice that at all. And the dog is Teh Cute, as they say (shrewdly enough, he's the star of the uptempo ED, which contrasts nicely with the full-on drama of the OP). ADV's dub is quite natural and dynamic so far -- points to Adam Dudley for expressing Oland's lack of affect without making him boring.

How about y'all, my faithful readers? What do you think?

Comments

[ishte.livejournal.com]

Well, I just got around to finishing it. I like it. Think this might have to go on my YAY list. ^_^

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Del Rey has the manga and will be rolling it out next month. I really, really, really like Del Rey's approach to translation, so I'm highly pre-ordered. :-)