Review of Tokko: Volume 2

Introduction

Manga Entertainment has finally made a statement at the recent London Expo regarding the plethora of dubtitled releases in 2007. Courtesy of the Eyeonanime forums, I can share the gist of that statement. As in so many things, it all boils down to money. Manga UK`s parent company has insisted on cutting costs, and that means losing the translated subtitle tracks and extra features from low volume titles. Normally this wouldn`t even be an issue, as most anime distribution companies in the UK release their acquisitions a year or more after the US, and effectively sublicense the series from there. Manga on the other hand by releasing titles at the same time are in competition with the US. This is to avoid fans importing instead of waiting (indeed this second volume of Tokko precedes the US release). But just as Manga UK doesn`t want its customers to import, neither do the US companies, which is why creating a translated subtitle track instead of inheriting the US version becomes expensive. Dubtitle tracks are cheaper as you only have to transcribe the English dub, instead of translating. You would think that with a title like Tokko, which is released by Manga US and Manga UK in their respective countries, there wouldn`t be a problem. But even in this instance, Manga US and Manga UK are two distinct entities and are in competition with each other. What this boils down to is that in all but the highest selling titles, we`ll be seeing dubtitles only for the foreseeable future. Given that the most committed anime fans insist on translated subtitles, the end result could most likely be the same, with Manga UK losing sales to imports.

On with the review then, as we delve into a second volume of cops and zombies mayhem with Tokko: Volume 2.

Five years ago, the Machida apartment complex was at the heart of a very strange occurrence. The ground opened up and spewed forth an evil that left most of the 400 or so residents dead. Two of the few survivors were brother and sister Ranmaru and Saya Shindo. Since that day, Ranmaru has been haunted by nightmares of the day their parents were murdered, which usually end up with him seeing a strange naked girl. He has vowed to do something about the deaths, and to that end has joined the same police force where his sister works in the traffic department. His ambitions are higher though, to be part of the Special Mobile Investigation Force from where he can pursue his quest. But the supernatural occurrences that lead to mass murder haven`t ceased, and there is a special secret unit called Tokko within the police tasked to fight the undead menace.

As Ranmaru continued his investigation in the previous volume, it became apparent that he was deeply connected to the supernatural happenings, especially when a strange tattoo appeared on his arm, and he began to manifest strange abilities. The ramifications of this are explored in this second volume`s quota of four episodes, repeated across two discs with Manga`s usual collection of soundtracks.

6. Sorrow
Ranmaru`s new found abilities have raised a few eyebrows, and certain people are beginning to get concerned. If necessary, Tokko will need to act, but first someone will have to evaluate just how much of a threat Ranmaru is. Tokko`s Lt Kureha Suzuka takes him out on a date. Suzuka was also a survivor of Machida, and she explains to Ranmaru just what Tokko`s mission is, and the importance of the Machida survivors. Ranmaru has been looking for revenge for the loss of his parents, but what Tokko offers may mean a way to end this supernatural menace once and for all.

7. Love
One of Tokko`s number, Inukai has been seriously injured battling the demons. There is a vacancy in Tokko and Ranmaru Shindo will be recruited whether he wants to join or not. Soon he is set up to face the next phantom that crawls from the depths, and regardless of whether he wins or loses, the people coordinating the fight against the menace will win.

8. Awake
Ranmaru makes a decision about Tokko, but they prove tricky to pin down when they don`t want to be found. Worse, there are a couple of MIBs trying to make him back off, and when he proves recalcitrant, they begin to pressure him through his sister. When he finds the Tokko members, they tell him that joining is a dangerous process, it means waking the demon within, and facing death if he can`t control it. It`s also an irreversible decision.

9. Dignity
Ranmaru is part of the team, slicing and dicing demons with abandon. In fact his abilities immediately make him a rival to Sakura in terms of who is strongest in the group. But this development hasn`t gone down well with the shadowy figures behind the scenes, and Tokko`s leader Lt Ibuki finds herself in mortal danger.

Video

Tokko gets the usual standard transfer for an anime series. There are hints of the NTSC-PAL conversion, but the 1.78:1 anamorphic image is largely clear, sharp and colourful. It`s a little too colourful for my liking, as the profusion of bright and shiny scenes is often at odds with the dark demonic storyline. I also felt that the character designs were a little simplistic compared to the overall design of the animation, and they didn`t quite seem to fit in to the backgrounds. Still, as suits an action heavy anime, there are moments of dynamic animation when required.

Audio

Tokko gets two discs and the usual splurge of soundtracks from Manga. Disc 1 has DD 5.1 and DD 2.0 English and Japanese, while Disc 2 repeats the DD 2.0 English track, and adds DTS tracks in English and Japanese. Tokko makes atmospheric use of the surrounds, it has a thumping soundtrack, and there is good representation of the action, as well as subtler moments. The English dub is a natural and free flowing one, although it does feel a little loose with the translation. This is a very American Tokyo. As my usual preference I went with the Japanese language track.

But we get dubtitles again… That is subtitles that are identical to the English dub and not a near transliteration of the Japanese dialogue. It differs from title to title, but it all depends on how closely the English dub is translated from the Japanese. Tokko`s translation is not all that close. It gets the story across of course, but there is a greater emphasis on getting the dialogue to flow. There are plenty of American colloquialisms, and the dub has been laced with profanity to suit the subject matter. There are also a significant number or transcription errors, missing words that render sentences meaningless, requiring a quick skip back to listen to the English dialogue to clear up the misunderstandings. It`s shoddy work that really should have been caught at quality control.

Features

There are the inevitable animated menus, and it`s nice to see a Play All option.

Disc 1 gets trailers for other Manga products.
Disc 2 gets a 1½-minute gallery slideshow, the textless credit sequences and around 30 MB worth of the screensaver that should have been on volume 1. I wouldn`t be surprised if this release is lacking extras that will turn up on the US release.

Conclusion

The second volume of Tokko takes us up to the two-thirds mark in the series, and in the process makes it clear that the story is mundane, the characters clichéd and the whole experience unrewarding. The languid pace and excessive exposition of the first five episodes were what I had merely considered laying the foundation of the series, setting up the characters for some interesting developments down the line. It turns out to be quite the contrary in fact, as the single-minded story development continues in this volume, and the unimaginative narrative appears to be a constant for the series. Tokko can best be summarised as extended lengths of exposition, with an occasional burst of action eye-candy to liven things up.

Tokko offers no surprises, it takes the series premise and leads on from that in a logical, methodical manner, and it takes its time about it too. Right from the beginning, when we realised that Ranmaru was seeking vengeance against the demons that slaughtered his parents, it was inevitable that he would wind up in Tokko where he could do the most damage. It takes nine episodes for that to happen, and we have been eking out the story up to that point. With only four episodes to go, it comes horribly late in the day, and it leaves little room for a satisfying resolution. In fact all that exposition has set up something much more epic. Tokko are trying to gather the fragments of the Box Of Dirge, and reunite them so that the breach between worlds can be sealed. There are 108 pieces to this box, they`ve collected 14, and at the start of the series they had about 10. Simple maths tells us that finding the remaining 94 in the few episodes left will be impossible.

The character development is nonexistent. They spend the time expositioning at each other instead of interacting, and growth isn`t a priority. They`re terribly clichéd too. Ranmaru`s chief is one of those police captains who swears a lot and shouts. His partner sees him with a bevy of beautiful women and calls him a `horndog` (I wonder what the Japanese for horndog is…) His sister is intent on setting him up with a potential bride, and all the members of Tokko share the same dark past, wear black and act moody. Inukai is strong and silent, Suzuka is flirty but damaged, Sakura is just damaged, while new member Ranmaru is vengeful but green. The character clichés just add irrelevancies to the already bloated script, and we`re led by the nose so much that when the odd twist in the tale does appear, it`s been telegraphed an episode or more previously.

Then there are the dubtitles. What makes it blatant is that the episode titles on the menu screen are the translated ones, while those announced in the episode previews are dubbed. So Awakening becomes Awake, and Brave becomes Dignity. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, and watch enough anime in the original language, and you`ll pick up enough Japanese to be of no practical use whatsoever, or just enough to get you into trouble if you ever tried to use it in polite society. But it will also be enough to tell you if a dub script and the original language diverge considerably. If you spend any time with the sneaking suspicion that what you are reading isn`t what`s being said, then the show has lost you. That happens far too often with Tokko.

This second volume has proved to be a disappointment, with the simplistic storytelling making for a rather childish experience, albeit with boobs and blood. But if straightforward cops and zombies action is your cup of tea, and I admit there is some benefit in watching this with your brain switched off, then how I recommend this release will all boil down to your personal preference, as it seems will be all to common with Manga Entertainment releases. If your only language of choice is English, then by all means buy this release, but if you are even slightly curious about the original language, then ignore this and import the Region 1 release. In this case, the money will end up in the same pocket regardless, and you may just get some decent extras into the bargain.