The Screening Room: Lensman - Secret of the Lens (1984)

In the second installment of The Screening Room, we’ll travel a bit further back in time and look at an anime movie from 1984, SF Shinseiki Lensman, also known in other parts of the world as Lensman: Secret of the Lens.  The film was directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri & Kazuyuki Hirokawa, animated by Madhouse Inc., produced by MK Productions, Ltd., and distributed by Toei Co., Ltd. in Japan.  Both the movie and an anime television series, Galactic Patrol Lensman, were based on the Lensman novels written by E. E. Smith.  Four original Lensman novels were written between 1937 and 1948, and then in 1948 an earlier novel from 1934, Triplanetary, was re-worked to fit with the Lensman series.  In 1950, a sixth novel, First Lensman, was written to bridge the gap between Triplanetary and the four original novels.  Finally, in 1954, the original novels were re-written to remove remaining inconsistencies, and the full Lensman canon was established. 

SF Shinseiki Lensman (1984)

The plot of the movie differs greatly from that of the original novels, although the TV series was closer to the original source material.  In the film, a young human named Kimball Kinnison is living on an agricultural world with his father.  He is preparing to leave the planet to apply to the Galactic Patrol when he encounters a dying Lensman, and the Lensman’s Lens is transferred to Kimball.  This Lens holds special powers, and it contains information that is vital to the Galactic Patrol in its struggles against the Boskone Empire.  Kimball’s father, Ken Kinnison, who had helped form the Galactic Patrol and had himself aspired to becoming a Lensman before losing his arm in an accident during his younger years, understands the importance of the situation and sacrifices himself so that Kimball can bring the Lens to the Galactic Patrol.

The Listening Chamber: The NESkimos - Battle: Perfect Selection (2002)

Nerd Up returns from a Holiday break with another installation of The Listening Chamber.  Not every VGM cover band is successful, and not all successful VGM cover bands play what would be called “good” covers.  Determining what constitutes “successful” or “good” is rather subjective, and opinions on styles vary from person to person.  This can lead to a polarizing situation where different people might love or hate the music, and that is the case with the topic of today’s discussion. 

The band in question is The NESkimos, and the album is Battle: Perfect Selection, self-released in 2002.  The NESkimos are based out of St. Augustine, Florida, and although they had hung up their instruments in 2008, they started making some appearances at conventions and other events again in 2012.  In general, The NESkimos play rock covers of music from video games from the NES and SNES, but the group does perform some songs in different styles such as surf rock and bossa nova.  The group currently consists of two guitar players who also provide vocals on some tracks, a bass player, and a drummer.  Between the period of their last album release and their reformation, they had no drummer and used sequenced drum tracks instead.

Most of the differences in opinion on the band’s quality arise from the fact that they do not always attempt to recreate the songs they are covering note-for-note, and they will often create additional parts to songs, change the way the song is played, or add lyrics to the arrangement.  While none of these things is unheard of in cover bands, The NESkimos were the first widely known VGM cover band to do this.  Some people had issues with the improvisation.  Others thought that the songs were simply being played poorly or incorrectly since the notes were not the same as the original music from the games.  I’ll leave it to each individual to decide for themselves if they like the style or not.

The NESkimos - Battle: Perfect Selection (2002)

Battle: Perfect Selection contains 23 tracks – 22 covers and 1 original skit – and runs for roughly 1:12:08, making it longer than most other VGM cover albums. 

The Listening Chamber: Game Over - Nintendo Metal (2002)

Previously in The Listening Chamber, we looked at the early work of Minibosses, one of the first VGM cover bands to release an album that was widely received.  This time, we’ll look at one of the first VGM bands to release an album that included original vocals to go along with their rendition of the music from various video games.  The band is Game Over, and the album is Nintendo Metal, self-released in 2002 by Game Over.  Game Over are based out of Sweden, and currently consist of a vocalist, a guitar player, a bass player, and a drummer.  The musical style is metal covers of the music from classic games on the Nintendo Entertainment System, with original lyrics created by the band for most songs that tell a story pertaining to the particular game that is being covered.  All of the lyrics on this album are dark in nature, with themes of hopelessness, despair, and failure being prevalent.

Game Over - Nintendo Metal (2002)

Nintendo Metal consists of 5 tracks – 4 with vocals and 1 instrumental – and has a run-time of 17:37.

The Test Kitchen: Milkshakes, Malts, and More Frozen Desserts

Desserts: they’re what’s for dinner.  Only, they’re for after you eat your dinner, so they’re for dessert.  And who doesn’t love a nice cold dessert during the winter, especially that American classic, the milkshake?  Well, some people like malts, but that begs the question: just what exactly is a malt?  And actually, if you’re from somewhere other than the USA, you might be asking “what’s a milkshake?” like a friend of mine from Mexico once did.  And since we’re trying to figure out what to have for dessert, what really is the difference between frozen yogurt and frozen custard?  And just what the hell are sorbet and gelato, and how do they figure into this picture?  Loosen your belts, unbutton your pants, and let’s find out in this discussion in The Test Kitchen.

Milkshakes and malt balls

The Screening Room: The Venus Wars (1989)

In this installment of The Screening Room, we’ll take a look at an anime movie from 1989, The Venus Wars.  The anime was adapted from a manga series of the same name that was created by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko – more known for his work with titles Combattler and Mobile Suit Gundam – and published by Gakken Co., Ltd. in Nora Comics in serial form.  The manga ran from 1987 to 1990, and was adapted to film in 1989.  The film was directed by Yasuhiko, produced by Bandai Visual and distributed by Shochiku Co., Ltd. in Japan.

The story goes that an ice comet struck Venus in 2003, stripping the atmosphere from the planet and forming acidic oceans.  Humans then begin terraforming the planet in 2007 and colonizing in 2012.  By 2089, the planet has two rival nations, Ishtar and Aphrodia, and war is looming.  A reporter from Earth for the Independent Press, Susan Sommers, travels to Venus to cover the story of the impending conflict.  She arrives in the capital city of Aphrodia, Io, and while she is meeting with her contact and informant an invasion force from Ishtar pushes into Io and rolls over the resistance.

At the same time, a roller-biking match between the Killer Commandos and the Venus Barbarians is interrupted by the invasion.  The members of the Killer Commandos, including the hotshot mono-biker Hiro Sano, evacuate the stadium and head to their garage to wait out the invasion.  Susan Sommers is picked up by one of Hiro’s teammates, Will, and brought to the garage as well.  The rest of the story revolves around Hiro and the members of the Killer Commandos, Susan Sommers attempt to cover the war, and the efforts of the Aphrodian Freedom Force to repel the Ishtar invasion force.

In North America, the film was released on VHS and LaserDisc in 1993 by Central Park Media and their publishing arm U.S. Manga Corps.  It was released on DVD in 1998 and again in 2003 by U.S. Manga Corps.  The rights were purchased by Discotek, and the film was re-released on DVD in 2012 with improved video from an improved source.  

The Venus Wars (1989)