This was a kid's show straight
after 'Pokemon'.
The beauty of this series was its cute character designs. Makajima Atsuko (Taiho Shichauzo)
did a good job of creating cute characters. Animation quality wasn't bad, either.
CALCI"Moncolle Knights" - A monster collection card game that has out grown its roots and developed a style of its own as a TV series, mainly due to the total goofiness of the plots and characters. (Dave Baranyi)
Well, I thought one of my favorite shows was going to be ruined, but it has come back to "form" and with a nice new addition. I have been watching "Moncorenito", AKA - "Monster Collection Knights" since it first started at the beginning of this year. This TV Tokyo anime is not typical of what I usually watch, because it is based on a trading card game, and I don't care for any of the other trading card game shows. But from the beginning it was obvious that "MCN" was something a little "different"
I've seen the TV ads for the "Monster Collection" trading card game ever since I first started to get TV tapes of anime from Japan about 3 years ago. So I was familiar but disinterested in the concept. Therefore, when "MCN" started in the beginning of this year I wasn't expecting much, but I was surprised because the show turned out to mainly be a satire of "game show" anime, as well as poking fun at other anime cliches. For example, the two lead "Knights", Mon-chan and Rokuna-chan are only 11, but at a drop of a hat they drop into romantic clinches with stars in their eyes and roses surrounding them, until either their teacher or Rokuna-chan's "mad scientist" father stops them. Their teacher, Namiko-sensei, is a 29 year old "Christmas Cake" - unmarried, desperate and always going into tirades over the unfairness of it all. In one great episode Namiko-sensei gets caught up by accident in one of the gang's trips to the "Monster World" while trying to apply for a housekeeper's job at the Professor's house. ( She is hoping to "catch" the Professor. ) But at the end, despite all sorts of trials and tribulations, when Namiko-sensei is finally able to introduce herself to the Professor, he tells her that he has found a 25 year old to do the job! (L)
But the stars of the show have been the "bad guys", the VERY fey Collection Count, his "man's man" Grandfather who does anything to try to get the Count to be "manly" and the Count's two helpers, Pacchi and Guuko, whose "Pacchi-Guu" war cry signals their latest scheme. Pacchi is a flat-chested, red-haired 18 year old girl with a short temper who gets caught up in the Count's schemes and, along with the Count, suffers the Grandfather's displeasure at the end of each unsuccessful plan. Guuko is an 18 year old girl, busty and mild mannered, with purple hair and glasses. Nothing ever dismays Guuko and she somehow always either escapes or enjoys all the misfortunes that plague the Count and Pacchi. As the series has developed, the "bad guys" have slowly been getting more and more air time for a simple reason - they are a lot more fun than the "good guys".
So I was enjoying this show every week for half a year, then suddenly last week, everything changed! The animation, which had been quite good, suddenly became "flat" and bland. The dialog, which had been sharp and witty, became dull and leaden. The voice actors sounded tired and rushed. The plots, which were usually brash and funny, became juvenile and predictable. I suddenly remembered that the show had been moved from a week night supper-time slot to a morning slot. Had they fired half the animators and writers and cut the cast's salaries at the move?
With great trepidation I turned on the latest show this evening, ready with a heavy heart to write to my friend to tell her not to bother taping the show any more. Sure enough, the show started out looking like last week's episode with second rate animation. Then the opening scene brought some hope - there, walking down an evening street which was full of happy couples and young families, was Namiko-sensei, getting herself worked into a hilarious rage at her circumstance. At least the writing and voice acting was back. Then the scene shifted to the Collection Count's castle, where they were celebrating their successful capture of a "momo item" the previous week. The alarm bell rang, signaling that there was a monster available for capture and the Count, Pacchi and Guuko took off like normal in the Count's golden lion-shaped monster catching vehicle. But instead of the usual banter between the characters a new song was played during the take off sequence. I interpreted this as a less than "positive" sign.
Then the show took a turn for the different as Guuko got separated from the Count and Pacchi and found a leprechaun ( of sorts ) as a friend. At the same time, Mon-chan was struggling with a cold and for the first time missed his acrobatic entry into the Professor's bird-shaped monster-chasing vehicle. ( That is usually the Professor's trick. ) Around this point in the show, all of a sudden, the animation went back to "normal"! It was as if the second team animators had been given a chance and were pulled off in mid-episode.
The episode ended with more craziness than usual, as the Professor conjured up a monster emu which had no particular powers and almost caused Mon-chan and Rokuna-chan to get blasted by the Count. But the leprechaun pushed the "Grandfather" button on the control panel by accident, causing the Count's ship to blow up which allowed the Professor and kids to escape. The show ended with the normal routine of Grandfather forcing the Count and Pacchi to "learn to be men" while Guuko, sans glasses, slept comfortably with the leprechaun by her side.
The came the biggest surprise - a new song for the ending credits. This new song, "Samba Pacchi-Guu" is a bright, lively samba, sung by the actresses who play Pacchi and Guuko. Pacchi and Guuko sing and dance during the ending credits in a manner very similar to the ending of "D4 Princess". The computer animated 2D figures of Pacchi and Guuko dance around and in and out of a 3D CG stage. It's a great bit of animation combined with a very catchy tune. I will definitely now try to find a sound track for "MCN", if only for a complete version of "Samba Pacchi-Guu"! And I will continue to watch "Moncorenito" now.
Dave Baranyi
