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Kaiba is an unusual show amongst unusual shows. Its visual style is not like any anime airing on tv, it visuals existing somewhere between Tezuka and 60s manga, and the high art of Japanese artists such as Aoshima Chiho. Kaiba is different, and people will inform you of this fact. I’ve heard numerous polarizing comments in [...]
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Click pictures to enlarge them. Spoilers ahead so please be cautious. So, part of my guess worked turned out to be correct after all. Popo is the one modified Neiro's memory to make him think that he is the lover when it was actually Kaiba. In this epi..글 전체보기
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After a long break from a post on Kaiba, we return with episode 6 of the series, "A Muscular Woman". This episode certainly advances the storyline and brings in, for the first time, Neiro (and her seiyuu Noto Mamiko).Gel, the cyborg body Neiro is currently in. Kaiba 06 - A Muscular WomanEpisode SummarySo for the first time we see Neiro, though in a different form, as a cyborg named Gel. Certainly she admits that she is a woman halfway through the episode or so. Also, it seems that something happens at every stop the ship makes, this time on a planet of memories known as Lolo.The old couple Warp sees that no one else bothers to save, due to the terrorists found onboard the ship, is actually traveling the world to see it in their old age. As they explained, their old bodies could not be sold, and they had not been converted to chips unlike others as they could not afford it and did not want to anyway. Their memories are kept in their minds and also in pictures, much like how we do it in contemporary times today.Kaiba also takes a deeper look into the issues of gender, as the genders of Warp and Gel are twisted in this episode, and in a slightly amusing scene Warp tries and help Gel with the urinating part, as the latter is unaccustomed to doing it the male way, and though not shown, Gel also helped Warp with his. As Gel observes, neither of them know the ways of the other gender, and hence their respective problems with even simple things like peeing.Gel also mentions Warp's name and what it means. Warp is the king that tries to enslave people and memories, but little else is known about his actual disposition and what else he does, aside from likely being a tyrant that is hidden above the clouds.Finally, we realize the actual meaning of the title "Kaiba" - a legendary plant capable of eating memories. Though nothing much else is known about the plant at this point, it is obvious that the huge explosion, likely caused by Gel (indicated by Warp's observation of the loss of her arms when Gel is found and being recharged), of the memory tanks created a huge food source for Kaiba, and it is seen at the end increased in size.Neiro is also shown for sure at the end, along with the reappearance of Popo, who appears to be her superior in the same terrorist organization.The old couple that Warp rushes to assist.IssuesThe first issue we take a look at is the importance of gender as discussed in the normal yet far-reaching conversation between Gel and Warp of how they are unable to understand the other gender's problems. It is theoretical, but what if one day you were to wake up and find yourself in the body of the other gender? Confusion as to what you should think, what you should do, and the like will inevitable arise. It may even lead, like in Gel's case, to impulsive action brought about by the other gender's body instead of making rational decisions. Certainly, it is huge food for thought as to how gender is actually a social issue and the way we view our own, and the other gender, is largely a result of social factors and education instead of actual rational discernment.This brings to mind a great book, classified under science fiction, by the title of "The Left Hand of Darkness", by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is a highly recommended read as it focuses on Genly Ai, who tries to assimilate a newfound planet into a vast consortium of planets. The biggest difference between the humans found on this planet and what Genly perceives as normal is how the humans have no specific gender; their sexes change only when mating seasons come and only change into a certain gender based on the reaction of others during the mating season. This leads to profound implications for Genly who struggles to deal with the idea of a society with no gender constraints, alongside other different social aspects that he must learn to overcome and learn about in order to bring this planet and its inhabitants into the larger picture for the better good of all. The Left Hand of Darkness is a really good book that takes a look at the same issue discussed above in this episode of Kaiba.The second issue is more about ageing. The old couple as described in this episode have nowhere else to go, nothing much to do, aside from quietly spending their time as they please. Their memories are left, as mentioned, in photographs and their minds, much like how it should be if we ever had a choice to convert our memory chips. Old-fashioned thinking to the new generation that is used to memory chips, but certainly, for old people, nostalgia and memories are the only things that they live for and go by in order to feel alive.The third is a minor issue, regarding how everyone refuses to help, near the start of the episode. As Warp observes, "everyone is pretending to be busy and not notice". Few people also lend a helping hand to others even in our world today, thinking that "someone else will help". This brings a detrimental effect as everyone thinks the same way and no one steps forward to help. Findings have indicated that the larger the group, the more likely no one will assist someone in need.The last deals with the memories. For amusement, memories are stored in a large tank and are summoned or called upon by visitors to view these memories. At closing time, the scariness and all-too-real setting of the memories rising up show Warp how these memories and the beings that were once them feel about the matter, much like how exhibits would feel like in zoos and artificial settings, for viewing pleasure. Freedom for animals and other lifeforms is how it should be, is what I feel the issue is trying to address. Knowing and respecting the feelings of others and even other lifeforms is certainly going to be helpful for many.The first look at Kaiba, the legendary memory-eating plant.My ImpressionsNot much has been left unsaid. The story has advanced to a point where we learn about the organization Popo and Neiro are working for, even if it is not much. Neiro is shown to have destroyed the factories on Abipa, and now she destroys the largest memory tank in the entire federation.Warp is slowly learning to deal with his gender issue, and thanks to Gel, comes to terms with himself and his female body that he is stuck in. Vanilla's corruption is starting to bring upon consequences that he never imagined, or perhaps did expect but not so soon. It goes to show that crime does not pay, especially if you are in law enforcement or the like and begin to go corrupt.Kaiba's appearance as a memory-eating plant, that is described as legendary, is strange at this point in time. It is obvious however that evolution occurs as Kaiba consumes more memories (the evolved form is shown at the top), and such memories can only be found in roe form as raw food for Kaiba, instead of converted chips. This may in time be important to the storyline, though we can only see in later episodes.I found it especially touching though, that the old man, despite knowing about his wife's affairs, still stayed by her side, especially since it is inferred that she has lost everything as she is now old, and still not famous. Very devoted man.In terms of issues, this episode touched upon social rather than other more far-reaching issues, and thus it is important as a lesson for all of us to look at the issues touched upon for sociological purposes, such as gender, and ageing. Certainly, it complements my studies in introductory sociology and psychology that I have undertaken, however elementary.
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Vanilla, knowing his days are somewhat numbered now he is continually flouting the regulations of the police force, takes “Chroniko” to the planet Nene, and shows her to the ghostly submerged moon of Rivera where memories are kept alive only through the use of a computer. Kaiba sneaks away to look through the copied [...]
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What can I say? This episode was just incredible, no question possible. Spoilers obviously follow. As it turns out, the memory-guy plays a vital role in the entire story. He never was aligned to Popo, but made it believe like he was. Popo probably ordered him to use the plant Kaiba on Neiro, in order [...]
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We visit the planet Lolo, where Vanilla plans to take Chroniko to a newly opened theme park which not only features theme park rides but allows its visitors to use the clusters of memory eggs around the planet to call up the spirits of those long dead. However, Kaiba himself is distracted by the [...]
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At some point, this show about exchangeable bodies was going to have to talk about gender and all that it entails. So we have these episodes. It’s funny that we’ve been watching Kaiba for so long in Chroniko’s body, I almost forgot at times that we saw him first as male. When Vanilla first started chasing [...]
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Vanilla and Chroniko-Kaiba make another stop, this time on the planet Adipa where food is free and designer bodies are available on a whim - including, it seems, multiple copies of the Neiro body, an issue which I’d have liked to linger on for a while (but more on that later…) Kaiba ducks away [...]
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Click pictures to enlarge them. Spoilers ahead so please be cautious. WOW. I'm glad I sticked with this series. Finally, things started to make more sense this time around. However, I'm still having problem with "Warp". It seems like Warp, is more like..글 전체보기
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The next planet that Chroniko-Kaiba and Vanilla land on is the planet Baba (methinks the names were an afterthought…) home to an old lady and her greedy, layabout sons. The old lady is totally in denial about the tragic death of her husband, who was trying to pick her favourite flower; Kaiba, back in [...]
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Kaba and Hyo-Hyo stop off on a planet (this is a running theme for the next few episodes - I’m not quite sure why they stop at these planets, although I presume the shuttle is a passenger liner) - this one’s named Toto. There they are saved from Vanilla’s clutches by Chroniko, a young [...]
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It’s been a long wait, but finally my beloved Kaiba is back. And what an episode does it return with! For once, Kaiba doesn’t appear in it at all, and instead it’s all about Popo, and how the bastards killed off his own mother to keep up his appearances. As it turns out, she once [...]
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I made a post earlier about how Kure-nai was the best of the season, and then turned it into a horrible lolicon joke. In all seriousness, I did feel at that time that Kure-nai was the best show of the season, but after catching up on Kaiba, I’ve been forced to reconsider. Whether Kaiba is [...]
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We return to Kaiba today with a look at its fifth episode, titled "Abipa - The Utopian Planet". This episode seemed fairly normal, until you realize the issues that really are involved and being shown to the world.Kaiba 05 - Abipa - The Utopian PlanetKaiba, Patch and Quilt in Patch's body factory.Episode SummarySeemingly a Utopian planet, Abipa does have some of the ideals that Utopia, in Kaiba's world, might have. Free food for all, the ability to change bodies any time you want if you can afford it, a free world, basically. There are also people going around taking care of the itty bits of society, such as automatic junk collectors and things like that.Yet as we also find out, Abipa is not as good as it seems. Patch for one certainly was angry at the way he was treated hundreds of years ago and at how his products turn out for society to be used as fashionable statements instead of what he originally intended, which was the sake of necessity. Upset at the way people threw away old bodies just for new ones in order to look better, he started churning out bodies he found useless, and people still bought them anyway.Since his memory is jam-packed he cannot remember anything new, each day is different for him and yet the same. He gets through each day blind as well, since he gave his eyes to his dog, Quilt. He had salvaged Quilt from the disposed bodies of dogs from long ago, and made her body a patchwork of discarded dogs all but the eyes.We then find out that Quilt is actually using the memories of a woman who found Patch and cleaned his workshop, and took care of him throughout her life, even beyond her body's death, when she converted to a memory chip. Patch never knew of her existence until he saw the chip and inserted it into Quilt's body.It is inferred that the hooligans appeared at the end due to the "gold" that both Kaiba and the man mentioned, but this is not explicitly stated nor confirmed. Whatever the reason, Quilt lost her body but her memories were intact, while Patch was broken by the hooligans later. And at the end, Quilt once again becomes the woman she once was, and expresses her will to once again take care of Patch, by repairing his body, keeping her love for him, despite him not knowing her, alive.We also finally get a hint to Kaiba's past - the legendary Warp, prince of the universe and controller of memories. Nothing else was mentioned and it is expected that later episodes might yet shed more light on Kaiba's past. It is interesting that Popo gave him the nickname in episode 1, and is likely that there is some sort of connection.Patch and the woman in the flashback from the stationary camera.IssuesJam-packed with issues we always overlook in a sense. First of all Abipa, as mentioned, looks like but is not exactly a Utopian planet. Indeed it seems ideal for the masses, but there are always disgruntled minds around. The free food is also taken from discarded bodies, a great way of recycling but one wonders about the food.Then, the next one comes from Patch. His monologue regarding how his bio-tech got copied for entertainment and fashion purposes and not for necessity as he originally planned much describes mass consumerism in the world today. Something that was created for necessity, and later became a fashionable statement or used for entertainment purposes instead, I suppose we could think of many such examples if we put our minds to it. People then lap these up eagerly in their search for "happiness", thinking that owning something or being "fashionable" can help them stay in with the times or make them blend in. In short, did they need what they buy? Most likely, like the real world most of the time, the answer is a firm "no".The final huge issue comes from the revelation of exactly who Quilt is. As Patch observed in the flashback Kaiba saw on the stationary camera, he always had everything he needed around him, and yet he never bothered to know the source of where they all came from. Much like Patch, most of us take for granted the existence of many things and issues that come to us, and never bother to think about where they originated from. The woman was not ignored by Patch, but rather just never seen by him. It certainly deeply reflects how many developed countries' peoples behave and think nowadays.One minor issue was at the end of the episode, where the man mentions that Warp probably did not want a town such as this. This brings us back to the first point, which was the question of whether Abipa was truly Utopian.Warp, the Prince of the Universe and the controller of memories.My ImpressionsWonderful episode in turns of issues. They really masked the issues well and put them across in a very nice way, such that if you did not think about it, you probably might just forget the episode for all its honesty. I really loved the way Patch described Abipa, it seems to be a description on a minor scale of contemporary society today.Then there was the woman who later became Quilt, her devotion to him through the years never waned. And yet Patch did see her, she was always in his memories, but he never remembered her. Perhaps this is an allusion to the fact that some things we see are never remembered by us truly for what they are until they are gone...or sometimes, we may never remember them at all. Patch definitely did not remember her despite having her images inside his head, as Kaiba saw.The stationary camera also explained the situation perfectly, and how the woman kept quiet throughout the recordings was kind of legendary in the sense that it showed the viewer just how we ignore or take for granted certain things, just like Patch did whenever he worked on his projects. When he was hungry, food was there. When he needed recharging, the plug went in. When he needed tools, they were there. And finally, when he required a memory chip, there was one. Yet he had not the slightest idea how it got there, or how any of the things were always there for him. He never bothered about their origins and took for granted everything. In a way, it might reflect how absorbed he was in trying to rebel against the world, but it certainly was sad too that he never chose to see the one who truly cared about him.As for Warp, even if it is truly Kaiba, I question now if he can ever get back his real body after losing it in episode 2. Not to mention, there seems to be a reason for why he experiences all these side stories while searching for his lost memories and looking for his past. Interesting inferences that the story tries to have us make, indeed.
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If I hadn’t promised myself that I wouldn’t blog episodically any more Kaiba would be one show that I’d find easy to blog episodically. It’s an interesting experiment in playing around with the linear narrative idea - while the instalments are clearly in chronological order each one is a self-contained piece that examines a particular [...]
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       Note: (for those new to this series, Kaiba is the name of the main character in this series, Warp is the name that Popo gives to Kaiba in the first episode, and Chroniko is the name of the female body that Kaiba’s memories now inhabits. Vanilla only knows Chroniko as a cute girl not [...]
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After a break, thanks to certain blog stuff and other news and posts, we return to Kaiba, with a look at episode 4, Grandma's Room of Memories. I know I am rather behind, since the latest episode I watched was episode 7 already, but heck, I do rewatch these episodes to get a better understanding of them and to be able to give a clearer post as to what the episodes try to get across to the viewer. It is good to rewatch them to appreciate the beauty, just like I rewatched Bartender as well to absorb everything. Beautiful series are like that.Before I begin, I would like to thank the anonymous comment poster for correcting me regarding what Chroniko called Kaiba last episode. She called him "Hippo", "kaba" in Japanese and not Kaiba. Thanks. Anyway, here we go.Kaiba 04 - Grandma's Room of MemoriesThe Grandma that finds Kaiba and fixes his hippo body. Episode SummaryRather touching episode as well, though it did not make me as sad as the previous did. Episode starts off by showing Vanilla chasing after Kaiba (in Chroniko's body) on this light gravity planet, which looks more like a rotating asteroid, with a lighthouse on it. Kaiba switches to his hippo form to avoid Vanilla, and in so doing an old woman finds him and sees his wound sustained from episode 2. She brings him to her place, the only one on the entire planet, in front of the huge lighthouse.Because of this, Kaiba comes into contact with the old woman and her grandsons, and Vanilla also catches up. In an action-packed scene, Vanilla manages to get frozen, while the other twin brother returns and both start talking about their dead grandfather, the mention of which immediately threw the old woman into a deep sleep.Vanilla also manages to see inside Kaiba's memory bank, which is different from the norm, he mentions. This is a first look inside Kaiba's newly imprinted memory bank since he has officially lost all his memories. It may be that his old ones are hidden somewhere, as will be seen later.The kids then forced Kaiba into their grandmother's memories, afraid that Kaiba was after their treasure, which they wanted for themselves. Here is where it gets interesting. Apparently she has a memory bank in place, a fake one, full of blank books. On top is hidden an entry into the real memory bank, a vast room of books of the old lady's memories. She then sits at a table in the center of the room, and Kaiba advances to her. Seems he can talk in his hippo form in her memory bank, and thus he brings to her the reminder that her lover, the grandfather, is really dead, reviving old memories.The old man later appears in her memories, and explains why he died. The grandmother then decides to join him on the other side, and thus dies with Kaiba still in her memory bank. While running away, Kaiba hears her final words to him.Kaiba also manages to tell the kids where the supposed treasure is, but the treasure is nothing more than photos and memories of the old folks' past, as well as photos of the kids when they were infants. He then unfreezes Vanilla after returning to Chroniko's body and asks Vanilla to make a grave for the old lady. The part where the hochi flowers bloomed at the graves of both old folks was particularly beautiful.Kaiba also regains a fragment of his memories at the end when Vanilla shows him a sort of food that had a third "hair" growing on it. This is quite the hint that he might yet regain his memories.Kaiba at Grandma's table in her Room of Memories.IssuesNot surprisingly, the first issue we find is the one that the grandma mentions of her grandsons, that of not looking beneath and instead always setting their sights on something that they could not possibly obtain without first getting their foundation right, as well as seeing how they were affecting the world around them in a myriad of ways if only they would take a closer look. This is a prime example of mankind doing the same - affecting the world around them without bothering to take a closer look all the time, and setting their sights on the wrong things without a good foundation first to get them off the ground.The second is mentioned as the grandma moves to the other side. The world is the same over, no matter big or small, she said, because what truly matters is the size of your heart. Again, I wonder how many will keep this in mind.Lastly, the twins dying in the ship at the end of the episode and the dialogue between the two shiphands who found them is of worthy note. As they observed, it is hard to live elsewhere after you lived at a certain place for a long time, especially if the two places are worlds apart.The planet showing the lighthouse and the small house that the grandma and her grandsons live in.My ImpressionsI liked this episode. The focus though was not so much on the issues that were observed beforehand as much as the love between the two old folks. All the grandfather wanted to do was to give his wife a chance to smile again, and having found the rare flower that cemented their love in the first place, certainly he could not pass the chance to give her a reason yet again to smile. Unfortunately, the risk he took was too large and he died.The memory bank is an allusion to the subconscious side of us. This can be confirmed by the unlocking of the old woman's memories when she was reminded that her lover had died. I am sure many folks know by now that our subconscious, in an attempt to protect our minds, sometimes hide or "forget" traumatic events and incidents. But they can also be found or "unlocked", like in this episode, through various means and jolts.The old woman helping Kaiba with his wound was expecting some reward in return. Seems like it was telling me there is no free lunch in this world, though Kaiba certainly wanted to give her something in return, evident from the way he rubbed his newly patched part, when he was looking at the fake memory bank.I loved the way they presented the effects of the twins on the world around them, and how the old woman remembered it all and noted it down, yet she still feels sorry for them in the end because their parents left them in the lurch and made them what they were today.Great move on the part of the producers by making the old folks grow through the times in their conversation. If it was the same seiyuu throughout for each (I doubt it), I would have to say they did a fabulous job switching from young to old voices throughout.Finally, a hint has arisen as to Kaiba's memories being hidden or locked somewhere, and the fact that his memory bank is different from the norm seems to subtly tell the viewers that Kaiba is no ordinary person. Yet no further clues are available except to Neiro being his girlfriend in the past at the end of the episode.Overall, this was another fine episode. The next episode will have more issues connected to it though.
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I know Vanilla is a jerk but it’s so funny how he acts like a love-struck puppy in front of Warp/Chroniko. Rating: 12/12 Perfect, This show continues to prove that it’s the best show of the season The next stop of route is the planet Abipa which is known as a utopian planet. Warp/Chroniko and Vanilla check [...]
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Kaiba continues to tell its story of multiple dystopias with a utopian aesthetic (distinctly unsettling, like a scary clown).
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