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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Tuesday, 04 September 2007 17:00 |
 A series I enjoyed the first time around, BECK's DVD release gives me a chance to try it again and see if it stands the test of time. Fourteen-year-old Koyuki is about to discover the world of darkened livehouses and grungy music, thanks to his friend Izumi - and that new world is going to change his life...
1 - The View at Fourteen
Like just about every other high-school guy in anime, Koyuki's finding life a bit on the dull side. Even being dragged along to take photos of the girls in swim class doesn't cheer him up. One of the girls is Izumi, an old childhood friend, but they haven't spoke to each other in a long time - after Izumi spots him she decides maybe it's time to renew the friendship. Also new to the scene is English-speaking Ryuusuke, who used to be in a band in America, and who seems to keep running into Koyuki...
2 - Live House
Izumi drags Koyuki along to see Ryusuke, although it seems he's just moral support while she flirts with Ryusuke. Come Sunday, and Ryusuke's band, Serial Mama, is putting on a live show - it's Koyuki's first time at anything like that, and to be honest he really doesn't fit it. He's even more uncomfortable after he walks in on a fight between Ryuusuke and his bandmate, Eiji. Seems Serial Mama may not last much longer. Meanwhile, Koyuki seems to be developing a crush on Ryusuke's younger sister...
3 - Moon on the Water
Ryusuke takes Koyuki to another live gig - but rather than letting him enjoy it, he persuades him to try and pay more attention to the real sound of the song. Another thing he wants Koyuki to do is look after his sister, Maho - seems a good idea at first, but when he gets stuck having to listen to her gossip to her friends in English, it's a bit too much for him. Meanwhile, Ryusuke's trying to recruit a bass player for his new band - he has a guy in mind, but he's insisting Ryusuke gets hold of a really good singer before he'll even consider - but getting any singer seems to be a tough order...
4 - Strum the Guitar
Both Izumi and Maho are doing their best to persuade Ryusuke that Koyuki has the potential to be a great vocalist, but he's not convinced. Neither is Koyuki - he's more interested in practicing his guitar, until an unfortunate tripping incident leaves it crushed under the wheels of a truck. It was a gift from Ryusuke, who's far from pleased when Koyuki tells him what happened. Fortunately for Koyuki, his swimming coach knows a person who may be able to repair it - which will hopefully repair Koyuki's friendship with Ryusuke as well...
5 - BECK
With a lot of help from Saitou - and the loan of an electric guitar - Koyuki continues to work on his playing skills, although it's slow progress. Having a parrot on hand to call you an idiot every 30 seconds probably isn't helping, either. Saitou has an idea, though - there's a song contest coming up, and entering it as part of Saitou's band could give Koyuki something to work towards. Great idea - until one of the band members passes out just before the contest, thanks to too much drink. Fortunately, Maho's willing to fill the gap in the lineup...
One of the things about BECK that I was curious to see how the English adaptation would handle, was the amount of English that's in it - or rather, Engrish, as it's clearly spoken by people who either don't use English as a first language or can't voice-act. Where it's used, it's helpfully subtitled so that you can make out what they're saying (not always easy), but there's a constant issue with having to suspend your disbelief about all the English that's used - the idea is that Ryusuke & Maho are native speakers, having lived in America for a long time, but to an English-speaker's ears that's clearly not the case. Certainly an opportunity for some better casting, I think. There's also a rather annoying stereotype at work that all Americans are arseholes - a rather sweeping generalisation, but to be fair it's how a lot of the world sees the US at the moment, and the series is maybe reflecting that. They're the only real issues there are with the general presentation of the show, though.
The story itself is entertaining enough - there's not as much music in these episodes as you'd maybe expect, as Ryusuke doesn't get around to actually forming his band until episode 5, but the focus on Koyuki and his coming to terms with his new circle of friends and discovering a love for playing music as well as just listening to it makes for some good watching. Izumi and her swimming lessons provide a certain level of fanservice, with Maho competing with her on the love-interest & providing a little bit of comic interest. Not all of the characters are immediately likeable - Ryusuke and potential lead-singer Chiba in particular take a bit of getting used before you can begin to see their positive sides - but there's no-one here who's outright unlikeable or annoying to watch.
At its heart, though, BECK is a slice-of-life show - the music gets the focus as it's becoming an integral part of Koyuki's life, but the story is built around him and his growing circle of friends and is all about what they do and get up to. That includes the band, of course, but there's more to it than that - the cast aren't one-dimensional, they have other interests as well and they also get reflected in the story. That's a large part of what makes BECK so appealing - there's depth here in both the story and the characters, but because it's presenting as being a simple idea you don't really realise the depth until it's already got its hooks into you. The end result is a series that's simple to get into and follow, but that soon becomes addictive viewing. If you don't appreciate the style of music on show here, that may affect your enjoyment - but the show's engaging enough in its own right Definitely worth a look.
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