Kaiba

Note: this is from a video review, look for links on my profile page.

Kaiba is the visual type of sci-fi whose expositions are minimal, but relies on a more intuitive understanding of a possible world. It has this organic feeling, in that anything can grow anywhere, anyone can be any object. Perception is questioned, geometry limitless, but society is still very much familiar, as is often the case in this genre. Viewers' comprehension is baffled, but they try to juxtapose the puzzle any way. These, they learn, are artificial bodies, now a technology intrinsically.

Can memories be blown away like the sands of time? How does hue, variance, temperature change our impression of a moment? Can mood be separated from feeling? How is darkness filled in by the void of the mind? What difference does background have, does the exterior have a relational countenance? Can one be blind to the actual, yet give in to illusory possibilities? Why does memory function differently in stages? Are analogies ever adequate? Is this a sphere or a jumbled mess of degrees? Is fire ever possible without oxygen? Why does one even assume darkness has no atmosphere?

Is it to be assumed that flowers bloom on rocks? Would that be some sort of eel-snake amalgamation? Why at a micro level is there a practical reliance on the global scale? How could technology be anthropomorphized? Could the sociological descriptions of relations be that of mere substitutes? Is there 'intention' behind certain evolutionary traits to propagate? Survival depends on every possibility. But, from a personal, subjective perspective one values specific objects more or less, whether inanimated or still existent. Whichever plant this may be.

What if distinct planets do end up with different cultures? What kind of physicality is preferable, would it be solely based on functionality? How would its shape change consciousness? Would gene modification even be involved with artificial objects? It doesn't seem necessary to sustain a plush toy. There certainly is the likelihood of an industry springing up to sustain this, though. Would society be fundamentally different, or would the only distinction be in appearance, limitlessly? Vanity would likely still be derived from the same source. But how could ears spawn creatures? And what if a human facet passed down to blobs of cells, or even evolved molluscs? In this world even cerulean centaurs can be an option, actualizing mythology. Cats invent artificiality with the aid of emoji interfaces. The contrast between light and darkness. A window of technological potentialities. A cartoon future devoid of universal familiarity.

Is the cycle of life disrupted if indestructible mixtures are intertwined? Would it be possible for a flow of will to transition into a parallel continuation? Would it make a difference if it was fibre or protein? Are they the same electrical impulses that course through at different rates? Perhaps we could gauge the lapse of old age. Could the entirety of waking consciousness fit in some minuscule contraption? What would then be the difference between dolls - with eyes open - and ones where life inhabits? Could a blueprint exist for a perfect life?

What role would colour play in a smoothly-flowing society? Would rhythm make any sense if shapes are indistinguishable? How much hedonism could groups at large sustain and for how long? Historically, not indefinitely. In this narrative personalities diverge, and even clones forge their own destiny. Memories are uncertain as they're essentially recreations based on the amygdala. History is a series of interactions between brains and egos.

Technology, as shown in this anime, is often inspired by what nature ended up with in its random permutations. Water is as fluid as some machinery can be in navigating it. It plumbs the depths of some indistinct planet of indeterminate hue, just as it also delves into the subconscious role of memory and the psyche, abstractly.

How does one perceive incoherent likeness? How unique is a mental state upon the moment of judgement? Kaiba shows, viewers question, but answers aren't necessarily forthcoming. A fog of arbitrariness permeate Masaaki's anime, it seems, and it appears functionally useful in a sci-fi narrative, to create a sense of unexpectedness associated with the unknown. It attempts to create an overarching world, analogous to Evangelion, but the slice-of-life elements are mostly what elevates it to the interest of psychology, at a more quintessential level, than the interpersonal.

Kaiba can be a quirky, heightened experience with unusual art and a contemplative, inquisitive story that straddles the thresholds of dreams. The science fiction to Tatami Galaxy's romance.

It's hard to write a review of Kaiba. So much of its charm and beauty lies in the animation, the rough drawings and fluid movements of the characters. Madhouse and Masaaki Yuasa have gathered together some of the best animation talent around, and it shows -- the art is consistently strange and beautiful, and stands out in a tradition that's known for a very specific, very standardized art style.

But that's just the surface. Underneath all that Kaiba is provocative, intelligent science fiction that questions the relationships between mind, bodies, and memories. Along the way it touches on love, family, the state and rebellion, providing nuanced portrayals of each. And it has a mythic arc that actually holds up to greater scrutiny.

Tragic and uplifting in equal measure, Kaiba is not just one of the best anime series ever made but one of the best TV shows. It aired in obscurity and has yet to be licensed in the States, but looks for all the world like a big-budget production. It's rare in any medium or industry to see such a personal, idiosyncratic expression made at such great expense, and the show that emerged was every bit as miraculous as the events of its creation.

Kaiba is an unusually animated anime. In fact it doesn't look like an anime at all. It looks more like a 1970s European cartoon with it's rounded shapes and distorted characters.

The story takes place in a world and galaxy where a person's memory is encapsulated in a small cone shaped device that can be placed into the head of another body. Also, using a special ray gun a person can open and step into another person's memories. The story features a boy with no memory and a hole in his chest who finds himself being attacked by strange creatures for no apparent reason. With help from a few others, he has to figure out how to survive and who he is. It's one of those series that is hard to explain. You just have to watch it.

Created and directed by Masaaki Yuasa (Crayon Shin-Chan), Kaiba has been long on my list and I'm so glad I finally got to it, it was very fun. Following Warp in a futuristic dystopia where minds can be implanted into chips then moved from body to body (a la Altered Carbon), Kaiba's animation feels new and refreshing among the rest of its genre, and its surreal, abstract narratives fit perfectly in its art direction. For something gorgeous to watch with a good bit of philosophical thought behind it I would highly recommend this series, although would warn even with its friendly demeanour it is not a series for young kids, it does contain adult themes. Again, I loved the series, but the plot and meaning gets quite heady towards the end and the narrative of it all tends to fall apart. Something that's obviously deliberately abstract and opaque in its conclusions, I'm still struggling to exactly follow the overarching narrative and world building, but I'm sure there's a million "Kaiba Explained" videos out there. Similar to Evangelion, scoring this feels like grading the by far most talented kid in the class who unfortunately just didn't quite understand the assignment. Still would recommend, especially for fans of anime that haven't seen.

I love how this had some of the most original animation of any show I have seen, but most of all, this is one of my favorite sci fi shows. Even though some of the scifi concepts explored here are not original for today, it was very original for the time I think and for an anime it pretty much was pretty original. I don't like much japanese voice acting and I would say this show was more tolerable for my ears with subtitles. I had to watch this twice because I couldn't fully focus on the anime because of where I used to live, but it was worth it for me. There is hardly any guts so the blood which was colured not red for the most part is less intense than some shows. The ending made me feel mixed emotions more than any other show before and there could for sure be some conspiracies made about this show, but for the most part it's pretty straight forward if you read the subtitles well or if you know japanese. I also loved the ending and intro which are so far the only anime intros and outros I like fully. I am so glad I rewatched this show. The dvd is expensive (over 100 bucks) and I rember it's on the Amarican Amazon Prime too. I might check out more of Masaaki Yuasa's stuff some time, maybe not Cat Soup again though.