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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Thursday, 28 February 2008 16:00 |
 This volume of BECK sees some things go the band's way and some against, as a meeting with Dying Breed does Koyuki's confidence a world of good, while interference from Eiji's managers makes breaking into the business hard going for the band - and Koyuki has women and bullies to deal with as well. Who said being a teenager was fun..?
11 - Summer Holiday
Chiba has big news - Dying Breed are coming to tour Japan, and he's so excited he's spreading the word at the top of his voice. For Koyuki, it's time to make his choices for high school - but his grades aren't good enough to guarantee him a place in the schools he wants. According to his teacher, his only chance is to quit the band and concentrate on studying. As if that's not enough pressure on his summer time, there's the autumn culturefest (with band contest, courtesy of Momoko-sensei) to prepare for, dates with Maho to go on, live shows to play in, and swimming practice. So many things, so little time - but the big surprise is who Maho brings with her to Beck's next live...
12 - Secret Live
While Eiji and his band have been working through DyBre's manager to get a slot in their next concert, Ryuusuke's working the more direct route, and has got Beck invited along to see Dying Breed up close - although seeing Eiji and his band appear on stage is a shock, until DyBre's Matt expresses his.. displeasure.. at how well they played during rehearsal. Stuck with a gap in their schedule, Matt invites Koyuki up on stage to sing with them - but a bad case of nerves leaves Koyuki singing badly out-of-tune until he can settle himself. Later, Koyuki finds himself with girl trouble when Maho catches him spending time with Izumi...
13 - Ciel Blue
An apparent suicide in America, has caught Ryuusuke's attention, along with the need to raise enough money to get a proper demo CD put together - after Koyuki's performance with DyBre, there's hype to be taken advantage of, but money is short - so short that Chiba's away to be a medical guineapig for a week. Meanwhile, Koyuki's gone from having two women chasing him to having none - has hasn't seen either Maho or Izumi since the day Maho caught them together - while the band he's put together for the school culturefest is attracting Hyodo's attention...
14 - Dream
Koyuki's girl problems take a turn as Izumi and Maho meet to talk, while Ryuusuke has a few words of wisdom for him about what Maho's like underneath her hard exterior. Their talk is enough to make him go out and try to find her - just in time to find out that Izumi's done him a favour and cleared the air with Maho, allowing her & Koyuki to start over again. Meanwhile, Ryuusuke's still got a bad feeling about Erika's suicide and seems to be siding with the conspiracy theory that she may have been murdered, Eiji's contacts seem determined to make life difficult for Beck to work their way up in the music industry, while the band finally gets their first CD recorded...
Sometimes, I just wish Koyuki and Maho would get on with it - it's being fairly well telegraphed that they're going to end up together, but every time it looks like it's going to happen, something gets in the way. This time around it's Izumi, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone else gets to play the crowbar later, but it would be really nice to have a show where the "couple" just got to be a couple and live their lives. Sadly, this show isn't it.
This volume hops about a bit, covering a good number of areas without getting bogged down in any one of them. There's Dying Breed's visit to Japan, the school culture festival, the aforementioned shenanigans between Koyuki, Izumi and Maho, some resolution (however temporary) to the problems with Hyodo, more competition with Eiji and his new band, and the mysterious death of an America singer that will have its own implications for the band a little down the line. This variety in the storylines helps keep things fresh throughout the disc, and it's well enough written that it doesn't feel like you're being dragged from one thread to another at speed - even though you are.
There are a number of good moments scattered throughout, too - Koyuki's performance with DyBre, the resolution of the Izumi issue, and one or two moments with Maho that underline that there is something there, even if they're both too shy or reserved to come out and actually say it. In fact, Koyuki's love life is almost the template for the rest of his life, as the band's fortunes and his own ongoing problems with Hyodo mirror the ups and downs he's been having with Maho.
It's a complex little life, but it's an enjoyable one to watch. As with the previous volumes, it's a slow-paced story that never feels that it's in much of a rush to go anywhere, but it's easy enough to get into that the pacing isn't something that would bother you - it's all about the characters, and they're such a varied and believable bunch that you can't help but get wrapped up in the story. This volume even gives us some proper music, as well, with Dying Breed's appearance showing Koyuki and the others how it should be done - and making for a properly rockin' musical interlude.
But it's those characterisations where Beck has really been shining - it's one of the few shows where you can genuinely feel the ups and downs of the people on the screen. It's very unusual for a show to draw me in anything like as much as Beck does, and more than anything else it's the reason I keep watching. Very highly recommended.
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