Sunday, July 18

Cat Shit One: First Impressions



Hohohoho...

The pilot episode was aired and I must say, it rocks. Much better than everything else offered in 2009 and 2010 anime seasons. Now let's move on with the discussion.

The story centered at the present time with emphasis on Afghanistan. Few foreign nationals (looks like foreign workers with an interpreter) were kidnapped by a group of rebels or Taliban which can be seen being escorted to an abandoned village in middle of wasteland surrounded by some black hills. The activity was monitored by 2 PMCs, Botasky and Packy who were working for CMS. They confirmed the location, requesting for backup but situation becomes unpredictable when one of hostage was murdered in cold blood by the leader. Packy decided to rescue the hostages despite being outnumbered, against the protests by his partner Botasky the marksman and the headquarters.



The story is relatively simply yet play homage to old adage from war movies; never leave your buddy behind, honor of warriors etc. The dialogues were crisp and simple, suitable for no nonsense military jargon employed by both main characters. Music is standard but sounds a lot like Hans Zimmer work on Blackhawk Down. Not bad actually. The animation is top notch, as expected from the company that made video cutscenes of MGS.



Botasky came across as whimsical, easily panicked but skillful marksman and Packy is typical courageous close combat specialist with gruff demeanor with caring disposition towards Botasky. The combat scenes are fast and furious, the PMCs were shooting sparingly in contrast to spray and pray technique by the terrorists. Packy also used a lot of techniques that would make military aficionados proud, transitioning weapon shoulder and primary-secondary transition for example. The creators took pain to include it which put some Hollywood military movie to shame in contrast. Packy primary weapon is quite a surprise; SR 47 but looking at the environment he is operating, it made sense. The weapon represents his character: no gold plating, adaptability, direct and simple system. Botasky in contrast, modified his M14 EBR so much which somewhat give audience a glimpse into his personality; effective but somewhat easily distracted by looks to compensate inferiority complex.



Action fans and military fans will not be disappointed with this CG anime. Perhaps some people will be turned off by the fact the violence looks very realistic and grim but hey, to each of his/her own. Highly recommended! Roger and out.

Bookmark and Share

4 comments:

Aoshi_88 said...

The fact that it was ACCURATE and didn't smack of Hollywood's inaccurate portrayal of the weapons and effects makes it top-notch in my opinion.

No MW2 nonsense either. You'd actually Botasky ditch the scope on his EBR after it gets sliced by the camel's kukhri... which would never happen in a lot of games or movies.

PS - If they ever sell plushies of both, I'd get Botasky and Packy~!!!

Unknown said...

Too bad that the 2nd episode is not coming soon, the creators answered it will be next year, enigmatically.

wipop said...

is this for real? they won't be airing the rest of the series.... on second thought it's not a surprize. the original Apocalypse Meow manga was racist, bloody, and full of gritty war details. It was awesome and I loved it, but someone in the production line somewhere, may say this anime is not suited to children.... well it was never intended for children in the first place! I was secretly hoping they would keep the gory details and intense storyline in. But as you saw, all blood was taken off from the 1st episode release, compared to the trailer. But that's just my thoughts. I'd love it if the series continued no matter what

Unknown said...

wipop: Yes, that is what I think too.