The Melody Of Oblivion Vol. 1: Arrangement w/ Artbox
Synopsis
During the 20th Century, the world experienced a large-scale war. A war between humans and monsters. Words could never describe the violent bloodshed of the war the monsters had won. Time has passed and a new century has begun. And the people have forgotten that Melody…
Life continued on as normal except for a mysterious sacrifice here and there. However, Bocca felt that this was wrong and when he heard of the Warriors of Melos, people who still rallied to defeat the monsters, he decided to become one as well. But this wasn’t an easy path and there was still much to be learned about the Melody of Oblivion.
Review
Before entering the world of The Melody of Oblivion, you first need to know a little bit about the people that made it. As a joint effort between Gainax and J.C. Staff, you instantly have the makings for an incredible, intriguing, and to a point, bewildering title. Gainax is famous for it’s seminal works, “FLCL” and “Neon Genesis Evangelion”. JC Staff created such outstanding series as “Revolutionary Girl Utena” and “Azumanga Daioh”. After watching The Melody of Oblivion, it’s safe to say that it belongs amongst the elite of both Gainax and JC Staff.
The Melody of Oblivion is a story of Bocca Serenade. Bocca has recently become increasingly disinterested with his classwork. His school teaches the art of shooting the “arrows of the soul”, which appears to be no more than pulling back and releasing the string of a bow. When Bocca uses a real arrow, his teacher chides him and uses the oppurtunity to trivialize the power of a real arrow. Because of Bocca’s failure to conform, he fails an important test and must be retested within the next week. Bocca remains unempathetic about the test, much to his girlfriend’s chagrin. She tries to persuade Bocca to retake the test, but he refuses. What is the point of the bow if not to fight the monsters, he wonders? During his conversation with his girlfriend, he notices his parents walking towards the school. After examining the situation further, Bocca finds that his parents are paying the teacher to make sure Bocca passes.
Agitated by the matter, Bocca runs away. While walking through a mall, he meets the energetic Sayoko. Through Sayoko, Bocca learns that a man he has seen before is actually a Warrior of Melos. Before Sayoko can discuss the man any further, a pair of police show up and chase Sayoko away.
Bocca, now alone and curious about the Warrior of Melos, goes to the place where he saw the warrior last. There he finds the warrior, Kurofune, having his special motorcycle, called an Aibar Machine, repaired by the venerable Tsunagi. Tsunagi, a friend of Bocca’s, welcomes Bocca in and introduces Bocca to Kurofune. Through Kurofune, Bocca learns of the Melody of Oblivion. She is a vision that only the Warriors of Melos can see. It is rumored that should a Warrior of Melos go to where the Melody of Oblivion is, the war will end.
The Melody of Oblivion visually and audibly seems to be almost as much fine art as it is traditional anime. The music in the series is absolutely breathtaking, and is executed perfectly. The Opening, ‘Will’ is both elegant and exciting, and is a great listen with or without the series. The background music in the series is amongst the best I have ever heard. It serves to set up every scene and creates a power that highlights the drama, action, and intrigue of the series.
The character designs are plain and simple, but are also quite unique. The Animation has a tendency to reuse footage, but otherwise is solid. The background artwork seems to be mellow and nondescript at first, being made up mostly of pastels and having a watercolor look to them. Throughout the first episode, the artwork changes steadilly, becoming much darker. By the end of the first episode, the settings and atmosphere have completely changed, and the the world seems much more grim. This is an interesting technique that I enjoyed during the episode, as it happened in step with the viewer learning that Bocca’s world has much stewing under the surface.
My only problem with the first volume is the English dub. While Carrie Savage does a decent enough job with Sayoko, many of the other major characters left me wanting. The most major of these was Bocca’s dub, as done by Ted Sroka, whose most prominent role prior to the Melody of Oblivion was in Ikki Tousen as Kokin Shuyu. Through the first four episodes, Sroka never really seemed to capture the character of Bocca. This really disapointed me.
The Breakdown
Run, don’t walk, and go buy this series today.