Chivas 1-2-3
"Self centered, violent, and a real rotten wretch on top of all. But in the end, everyone follows him. To me, Shibas Scotch is an unfathomable person. In order to understand him better, and to care for his soul, I will continue to follow him". Thus the Nun Gin Fizz describes the leader of her disfunctional team of magical bounty hunters. Despite being treated by Shibas as little more than a slave, she insists on believing that all people are good at heart and he can be redeemed. But her faith is strained to the breaking point when they enter a city that is so corrupt, so decadent, that just breathing the air makes her sick--and Shibas is delighted with the place. Each of the team members has a bizarre quirk to his or her personality--Shibas and Gin are respectively nauseated by goodness and corruption, Genmi is Gay, and has a thing for Shibas, while Kiss is both an Elf and a werewolf. It might just be because of some bizarre quirk to my own personality, but I really liked it! I noticed right off that the artwork was nice (and it has to be pretty good to grab my attention), especially facial expressions as charachters are thinking naughty thoughts. Most websites consider this a pretty average OVA--at least the highly respected Chris Beveridge liked it a lot. Perhaps it was the fact that the main charachter was a near total jerk, and I enjoyed seeing how a team led by such a person would operate, which made me like it (if I'm not mistaken, I think Shibas was played by the same Yao Kazuki who played Dark Schneider in Bastard!!--coincidence? I think not!). At one point Gin, Genmi and Kiss are risking their lives fighting a terrifying monster while Shibas is getting drunk in a tavern--you don't see that every day! Especially amusing was a certain trick Shibas uses to create a sort of hiding place for his mind when his body has been damaged by spells. I watched Sorcerer on the Rocks in both subbed and dubbed mode, and noticed that although the dubbed version featured some amusing Americanized jokes, the plot seemed a good deal easier to follow in subtitled form (sometimes you miss a fair number of lines even when you are listening to them in English!). Also, I got more of a feeling from the subbed version that maybe Shibas really did have a little goodness in him, whereas at the end of the dubbed version he still seemed pretty much a total A-hole. All in all, this seemed a well packaged story that didn't leave any loose ends. Too bad there are only two episodes! I watched my rented DVD four times before returning it, and have bought myself a copy as well. You know you've found something worthwhile when at the end of a viewing you just say to yourself "that was good! I liked that."
My favorite line: "Please take note of my gallant figure, Lord Shibas!" --Genmi
Last updated Thursday, February 07 2008.
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