We all complain about how it seems like every show is derivative of something that came before. But there are occasional shows which really do break the mold, and strike out into entirely new territory. Here's a small list of shows like that I can think of. Of course, being unique doesn't necessarily mean being good; being unique is a big risk, and sometimes risks don't pay off.

Haibane Renmei -- this one is obvious. There's never been anything like it, before or since. By the same token, Serial Experiments Lain.

Muteki Kanban Musume -- (aka "Ramen Fighter Miki") is completely out there. To the extent that it bears any resemblance to anything else, the resemblance is deliberate -- and subverted. It certainly isn't derivative. Miki, the titular unmatched poster girl, is a completely original character so far as I know -- and I almost died laughing the first time she got drunk. It isn't actually one of my favorite shows; I don't really do all that well with slapstick. But it wasn't a waste of time. And we have to give them credit for trying something unique.

Abenobashi Mahou Shotengai -- likewise wasn't a total success. But it was utterly unpredictable, right up to the end, and the three main characters were more engaging than I thought they would be. Most of the episodes ended up as genre sendups, and a couple of them landed with a thud. Even so, it was a brave attempt, and it really did strike out into unknown territory. (If there's any show that could be considered the progenitor of this one, it would be Excel Saga. But I don't think that's really close enough to count.)

Aria, the Animation -- The concept itself is amazing: Mars is terraformed, and one of the cities there is a deliberate recreation of Venice, and our main characters are three girls who are training to become gondoliers. But what's really unique about the series is the basic approach to story telling. This is a magical series, not in the classic mahou shoujo sense, but rather because it inspires a sense of wonder and delight. I didn't get the same feeling from the second series (which I gave up on about half way through) but the first series is pure magic from end to end. AtA is an example of iyashikei, "healing animation" but that's not a genre. It's a description of how it feels to watch the show.

Princess Tutu -- I haven't watched it, myself, and have no urge to do so. But we have to give it credit: how many shows can you name that are about a duck that falls in love with a prince, and defeats her enemies with ballet dancing?

Near misses: Fractale wasn't as original as the director thought it was. It borrowed more from Miyazaki than Yamamoto really admitted to himself. And it just wasn't very good story-telling. (The ending was a real disappointment.) But it was an attempt to strike out into new territory, and we must acknowledge that.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is, ultimately, part of the Giant Mecha genre. Certainly the real story being told was utterly strange and pretty much unique to that point (though it was ripped off later by Gasaraki), but it starts by seeming to be a typical Giant Mecha story.

I think that Ninja Nonsense should get credit for trying something new. It's slapstick, and it didn't really invent the concept of ninjas, but it certainly was fresh and it didn't feel derivative at all.

History: there are shows we look back on now, which have been imitated and mutated dozens of times, which therefore no longer look particularly original. It's easy to forget just how original they were when they first came out:

Dragonball was extremely loosely based on "Journey to the West" but it diverged from that pretty early and never really returned. The archetype shounen series, upon which all others were built. The sad thing is that later on, Toriyama started repeating himself. But early, it was very original.

I think we have to give originality points to Urusei Yatsura. "Unwanted Magical Girlfriend" is now a well-worn and tattered genre, but this is where it all began.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 05:56 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
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