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HARD
ROCK SAVES SPACE?!
A
number of shows (okay, MACROSS shows) have these great space battles
involving the fate of the galaxy or something, and usually it is a
special song sung/played by a special person that turns the tide of the
war. That special person always seems to be some super cool jock or
dudette in the young teenage range.
What if instead of being young, brave, beautiful and so on, you are a
salary-man in your mid to late 30's? What if some space-faring
civilization needs your music that you have not played in over 15 years
for their very survival? This is Black Heaven.
A space battle rages between two sides. One has sleek needle-like
spaceships. The other side has ships that look like orbs with spikes
projecting out of their fronts. Though the battle seems very fierce
neither side can gain an advantage. Behind the sleek spaceships is a
planet. As we watch the sun rises over the horizon of this planet.
Suddenly the music changes. It takes on a more triumphant Rock and Roll
theme. Hidden in the sunrise is a new kind of ship, a huge cannon. As
the new song strengthens the cannon opens up and lays waste to the fleet
of alien looking orbs.
The scene suddenly fades in to morning in Tokyo. As the rice in the
kitchen steams we see a salary man getting up without enthusiasm for
another day of drudgery at the office. His name is Tanaka Ouji. His wife
calls out to him sleepily from bed and reminds him to take out the
garbage. We notice something that curiously resembles a guitar's neck
sticking out of the garbage. On Ouji's way out he is confronted by the
strange sight of three girls in leotards on top of one of the bicycle
shelters doing calisthenics.
It is not until Ouji is actually on the train that he realizes what was
sticking out of the garbage bag. He races back home on foot and rescues
his most prized possession, an electric guitar. He confronts his wife,
Yokko, about trying to throw out his guitar. Ouji attempts to find a
safe place to hide it from her.
At work, after being berated for his tardiness and then getting into an
argument with his wife over the telephone, Ouji's luck suddenly changes
for the weird. This is where he meets Yuki Layla, his new coworker.
Despite Layla trying to introduce herself, Ouji pretty much ignores her
while arguing with his wife until his boss cuts off the phone. Layla is
puzzled by Ouji, but not for the obvious reasons. She wonders if this
man can really be the one. She spends the rest of the day observing Ouji
and taking notes, drawing much attention from other officemates. Despite
appearances and her disbelief though, he has to be the one!
On his way home late at night, Ouji is followed by the three girls who
were doing calisthenics in the morning, now dressed as rejects from MEN
IN BLACK. Ouji stops by the "Vintage Guitar" shop where he
talks with an old friend for a while. When Ouji finally gets home his
wife and kid are once again asleep. His wife wakes up enough to tell him
that she was not wrong, the guitar is considered burnable so it is the
right day to throw it out. Ouji flees outside to the garbage area but he
is way too late. His guitar is gone, amidst his burning anger he screams
out 'MY FLYING VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV!!!'
Instead of going back home Ouji goes to a small food cart and tries to
drink his sorrows away. He is joined by Layla. At first Ouji does not
recognize her, but she says that she knows him very well. He used to be
known as Black Heaven's lead guitarist, Gabrielle. Ouji does not
know how to respond to her advances. Thinking one thing he finds himself
led to an apartment building. There she leads him up the stairs to
heaven and waiting there is not only Layla but also his lost guitar. He
ends up playing the rest of the night. Layla watches, "This is it!
This is the song!"
Yes, this series is a bit of a comedy. It also has a number of very good
songs for the BGM as well as John Syke's CAUTIONARY WARNING as the OP
music. What make the series particularly enjoyable, though, are the main
characters. Even Gen, Ouji's young son, has a personality that you enjoy
watching. They all have a certain depth to them. Their situation is
engaging: this worn out salary-man gets a chance to relive what made him
most alive in his youth. It affects the people he saves and those in his
more mundane life. Quite simply it is addicting to watch. It is also
nice to have a series that is engaging while not being horribly
stressful.
This series has a nice polish on all of its elements?character design,
story, music, animation, and packaging. Since it is from Pioneer, we
hear word that it will be released relatively soon in the U.S..
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Michael Tao
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