CALIFORNIA CRISIS: TSUIGEKI NO HIBANA

DESCRIPTION

CAST

REVIEWS

• 

  bitchassdarius

  70/100
  A journey into the American Dream

  We finally learn the girl's name after 18 minutes, more than a third of the way in. Not that the main characters' names matter anyway, nor does the plot nor the characters' backgrounds nor really any of the specifics. In this way, California Crisis reminds me of Monte Hellman's sun-baked road movie classic, Two-Lane Blacktop; that is, there is a story, one about a road trip, but that story also happens to be the aspect of least interest. Forget the story, and the focus is now what is being presented on screen. You've got the really striking art style reminscent of Patrick Nagel, with its bold colour palette on clean yet detailed line art and two-tone shading that gives a strong sense of directional lighting; the wonderfully '80s boogie soundtrack delivered by city pop singer Miho Fujiwara; the '80s Hollywood movie staples of SoCal, dive bars, diners, and car chases.

  

  But even looking at the plot, certain familiar threads pop up, like the optimistic sci-fi elements tying outer space to the domestic life (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was also released in 1986) or the highly idealized sexual freedom of American women (think of all those provocative coming-of-age sex comedies the '80s is known for). Yet at the core of California Crisis is a novelly foreign critique of the American Dream. Here we have Noera, the male protagonist who claims he cares about his job, his car, his wallet, etc. but whose actions say otherwise; he is barely coerced by a complete stranger to take a road trip to Death Valley and during said trip ends up totaling two cars on unpaid loans. There is no hesitance in this adventure, the brakes never pulled to sit and wonder what the point of it all is, only the impulse to move forward to the next leg. Reflected is an attitude that pervaded America's, and Japan's, economic prospects of the time. During a reunion scene between Noera and his old classmate Jack Varo, his friend unwittingly sums up the mood of the trickle-down era while reminiscing about their high school basketball days: "Those times were great, weren't they? We all just did what we wanted." Still, California Crisis is even more explicit. The trip to Death Valley is initially decided on a whim when, after receiving a vision from the mysterious orb at the diner, Marsha dazedly blurts "American Dream" out of the blue. This tenuous association, along with Marsha's suspicious lack of a past, gives the impression that she's running from, or towards, something. But their arrival at Death Valley is met with a final car chase, after which they end up breaking the "Space Mind" after falling into a river. What's left is a transparent glass ball leaking river water. And then the OVA abruptly ends, their journey as fruitless as the American Dream.

  

  California Crisis is a document of what director Mizuho Nishikubo and his production team saw and felt on their location scouting trip to California. The sum total is a time capsule of a certain era of American pop culture, which is a bit odd coming from a Japanese animation, but the accuracy is undeniable. There's a chase scene set to a neon-lit night club performance whose storyboard could have been taken straight out of a classic '80s action movie (I'm thinking Beverly Hills Cop?). Captured is not just the decade's aesthetic but also the dead-ends of its materialism. And how fitting for this idiosyncratic, Western-facing production, which could only have been born out of the '80s anime boom from a studio that almost immediately went out of business.

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• 

  romhackd

  78/100
  A Fever Dream Of A Good Time

  I want you to imagine this. You're running a fever at a high temperature of 105 degrees Farenheit. You're trapped in your bedroom, draped in your comfortor while your sweat puddles. You decide to grab your remote.

  Wouldn't it be a good time to catch up on some anime?

  

  You scroll through Hulu's oddly expanisive anime selection. Then Netflix. Even the Roku channel for crying out loud. The only thing you can think the whole time is "been there", "seen it", "don't want to see it", and "maybe later".

  You throw on your pirate cap. Well, your semi-legal pirate cap. You're no Monkey D. Luffy afterall. You open YouTube and search a simple, "Anime OVA Playlist".

  That was my introduction to California Crisis: Gun Salvo.

  A 360p reupload of the OVA on YouTube with no subtitles while I was sick out of my mind.

  While this sounds completely unideal, I came out the other end feeling extremely charmed by this OVA in a way that I felt I just had to write about. You see, I think without subtitles or perfect quality in a humid room with a rampant brain is the perfect condition to watch such an anime.

  

  You see, recently I've had a sort of fascination with 80's and 90's OVAs. Especially the grimey, almost amateurish feel on a lot of them. Most of them at the time were simply just passion projects that you can feel the love seeping out of. I personally think of OVAs like Tatsuya Okamoto's "Call Me Tonight" and Yasunori Ide's "Burn Up!". Both excellent OVA projects in themselves that I find memorable. Yet, not in the way that California Crisis did.

  https://anilist.co/anime/2147/Call-Me-Tonight/
  https://anilist.co/anime/767/Burn-Up/

  There's reasons for this. You see, I had full context within those OVA's. One of them piqued my interest through a video that Hazel did (I love her video essays a normal amount) and the other one I had accessible subtitles for. California Crisis shot both of those in two.

  Upon sitting down for my watch, I was instantly graced with some of the most memorable artwork I've seen in anime for a long time. Especially in a time period where mangaka and anime artists were sticking to a classic, big bug-eyed bishoujo figure. There was a range of art styles at the time, but it wasn't as striking as some of the diversities you can find nowadays. Though it makes sense why. It was the staple of 80's anime of course. Present in things like Dragon Ball all the way to Ranma 1/2. The drawn perception of the "beautiful lady". The female figure, bishoujo, was just starting to be shown and fully appreciated through an animated front.

  

  California Crisis, with its characters designed by then 28 year old Matsuri Okuda, was strikingly strayed from that look. Characters like the bright and charming Marcia, were drawn with an almost humanly anatomical feel. Not those bubbly, round shapes you usually see in that afformentioned bishoujo style. The way the colors are bright in contrast to the wild and untamed atmosphere and the sharply defined character style plays a huge role in its artistic vision.

  

  Even the male characters are fully realized in this style in a way that feels tasteful and cohesive. I found myself falling in love with Okuda's artwork and vision here. I implore you all to go check out other works of hers, you'll end up absolutely charmed by the lady and her clear appreciation for anime as a medium.

  Another part of why I found this OVA so enjoyable was layed out in the music. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the whole thing. With music directed by Masaki Kurihara and vocal performances by Miho Fujiwara (who also worked on Kanon, funny enough), the soundtrack is breathtakingly good. I found myself spacing in and out throughout my entire watch. Whenever I'd snap back to reality, I'd be greeted with some of the catchiest tunes on this side of the OVA scene. Citypop good enough to knock even the most seasoned listeners out of the park. Even if most of those listeners only consume Citypop through TikTok audios and YouTube livestream radios...

  

  You can listen to the soundtrack for yourself here. However, my favorite song would have to be "Streets Are Hot".

  Anyway, as for the plot's sake. Strangely enough, I didn't really catch myself up on it. Of course since there were no subtitles and I had very limited Japanese knowledge at the time compared to now, I was thrown out into the pihranna lake without any knowledge of swimming. The whole OVA is a fast paced, action-packed work that takes enough of an attention span to pick up on. I found myself double-taking from scene to scene trying to piece it together. To vague avail. The low picture quality didn't quite help either.

  However, story relevant or not, the scenarios and atmospheres in which I was thrown into were nothing short of pleasant. Bars, alcohol, car chases, 80's idealized America, provocative women, and that Sci-Fi anime flare. It was all apparent. To the point where I didn't even really feel the need to know what was happening. It was like a baby sensory video for me. Jingling keys in front of my face like a toddler. Highly enjoyable stuff.

  

  The moral of this long winded tangeant is simple. Get sick, get dizzy, and find yourself a low quality reupload to binge while on the brink of vomiting.

  Just kidding.

  My advice to you is not only to watch this OVA, but to find yourself trying new things. I probably would've never picked this up if not for the circumstances. Put yourself out there, dig around, and you'll likely find something golden.

  There's mountains and mountains of anime out there from years and years ago that barely gets any attention at all. It's unfortunate but it's not surprising given the landscape at the time. OVAs were usually sent directly to home media release. As studios at the time were much smaller than nowadays, and were more into it for the love of the game, a lot of passion projects slip through the cracks and find themselves covered with pavement.

  Seek out things you're unfamiliar with. If you're serious about anime as a medium, like I am, dig into the history a bit. Prod around with Anilist's extremely robust search engine. Explore.

  Thank you for reading, I'm on 3 hours of sleep.

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