Library Wars: Wings of Revolution ~ our constitution has been subverted by terrorism

Librarians defend the Freedom of Expression from armed government agents.

This post is a spoiler-free comment about the Library Wars: Wings of Revolution movie (2012). For those who do not know, Library Wars is a franchise that takes place in a near future in which the central government has claimed the right to “improve society” through book-burning. Libraries, being creatures of the regional or local governments, resist the censorship campaign, which leads to armed struggle between the two sides.

Shoubu da!

Anime: Amnesia

Those who watch anime regularly are used to seeing characters gleefully declaring their eagerness to fight. Competitiveness is both the bread and butter of shounen titles, but the convention of rivalry and the desire to get in there and mix it up is now commonly seen throughout anime, regardless of the target market. Here I offer just three examples of the “Bring it on!” poses that I saw this week.

Anime: Chihayafuru

The first two screen shots are people getting serious about their games and were used for comedic effect, in Amnesia Ikki challenges Ken to a game of sudoku, in the second image, Chihaya has aspirations for her card-playing club. Our final example is a bit more serious, as Captain Genda is still healing from a previous mission, in which he used his own body to shield a work of art from gunfire.

Anime: Library Wars, Wings of Revolution

Toshokan Sensou: Library Wars (live action) promo video

As some of you know, I am a big fan of the Library Wars anime. I have been reading the Library Wars manga (available in the US from Viz), and I am eagerly anticipating an opportunity to see the anime movie that was in Japanese theaters last Summer, Library Wars: The Wings of Revolution. Now there is a live action movie based on the same novels that will be showing in Japanese theaters this Spring.

For those who are not familiar with Library Wars, it takes place in a near future in which the central government (of Japan) has passed censorship laws to “improve” society through book burning. The (regional) libraries arm themselves to defend the freedom of expression and the free flow of ideas. The main characters are librarians, and there is an interesting mix of action and romance.

As you can see from the video, above, the action sequences look like they will actually be decent, but I am, nevertheless, worried. In my experience live action adaptations are rarely well executed. I am very fond of this franchise, so if they are going to do it, I hope they do it right.

Some additional info about the movie, and alternative trailers (mostly recut, but with the same scenes), you can check out the report on Anime News Network.

Summer 2012 Picks and Prediction

Libraries oppose any type of censorship.

Each season I pick a few titles as being worth keeping an eye on, and predict one title that will rule over all. Unfortunately this season I just don’t see that one show that stands out above the rest, and it isn’t because everything is so utterly amazing that I can’t quite choose. This time I will break from my established convention and discuss three almost Predictions (Picks), and three almost Picks (Encouragement Prize).

For those looking for comprehensive previews, here are some links to good ones:

• Star Crossed Anime Blog – short analyses of each title, running from bad to better in terms of how much potential Psgels sees in them.
• Metanorn – previews of every title with perspectives from multiple members of the team.
• Avvesione’s Anime Blog – another individual perspective.

On to the shows…

Library War movie slated for June 2012 release

I usually don’t report news here, but I am very excited that a Library War (Toshokan Sensou) movie has been announced. It is going to open in June 2012, and the name is Library War: The Wings of Revolution. I really hope this encourages someone to release the 2008 TV series here in America. (I WANT!)

If you want some more information about the setting for the movie, check out my review of the Library War TV series.

Library War

The enemy are information control fascists.

Library War (Toshokan Sensou) is an enjoyable 2008 anime about information warriors. In a time when information is tightly controlled by military forces, those who treasure and preserve information have formed a military counter-balance, the Library Defense Force,  to protect information oases. This anime follows a LDF member Iku Kasuhara (voiced by Marina Inoue, Kyoko, from Skip Beat), as she moves from recruit undergoing harsh training, to her time in service on the Elite Task Force for the Kantou Library. The show is a mixture of military life, romance,and the theme of Freedom of Expression.