Record of Lodoss War - 9 DVD set

So, this month I took a break from dōjinshi purchases and invested instead into a long-coveted item: the 9 DVD boxset including the entirety of my favorite anime, Record of Lodoss War - both the OAV and the series proper. The two boxes set comes in its italian version from Yamato video, and it' fairly barebone, as it only contains two slim booklets and basically no extras on the DVDs themselves, but it's got what matters: the 13 episodes OAV, focusing on the adventures of heroic knight Parn and his elf buddy Deedlit; and the 27 episodes full-length series, narrating instead the adventures of young knight Spark as he sets out to save Lodoss from a grim fate...

... or so I used to remember. Rewatching in a binge both series actually made me realize how complex and bizantine the two series' approach is in adapting the source material, a series of seven novels by Ryo Mizuno (I reviewed them here). In my discussion of the novels I generalized, saying that the OAV adpated novels 1 and 3, skipping 2; and that the series adapted 4 and 6-7, skipping five.
In reality, the OAV surely adapts those two novels, but it tacks an ending (evil wizard Vagnard's attempt to corrupt Deedlit so that the goddess Kardis can be reborn) that is actually very similar to that of novel 7. The full-length series, on the other hand, cuts away a few subplots but basically adapts the books above in a rather linear way, also keeping the ending.

While the reason for this strange adaptation loop is anyone's guess, my idea is that, as it often happens with anime adaptations, the OAV was made with no plans for a full fleged series. Therefore, as book 3 leads into 4, but the OAV didn't have enough episodes to carry forward, they simply took the end of book 7, but with the characters of books 1 through 3. Then the series was made and, in order to avoid overlap with the OAV, it started off from volume 4 of the books.

The series themselves are, in general, as awesome as I remember them to be. The OAV is simply amazing, tightly plotted and boasting a rather good design and animation standard. A very unusual, low-key OP, and an amazingly fantasy-like ED - probably one of my favorites ever. The full series shows, of course, its larger budget in its very well animated OP and ED, but suffers of very common late-series fatigue: there is a jarring animation quality drop around the 20-25 episode mark (outsourced to a quick n' cheap Chinese studio?), and then pick up again for the last two episodes. There are also a couple of bizarre continuity errors - for example, body-jumping witch Karla is mentioned as possessing the body of thief Woodchuck, like in the novels; but then, suddenly and with no explanation, appears as a young woman...

Details, of course. The series is still awesome, that kind of epic, no-frills heroic high fantasy that they simply don't make anymore. Just like the novels, highly suggested for those wanting a trip down fantasy's memory lane. There are two more animated series set in the Lodoss universe: I distinctly remember Rune Knight being crap, but I'm actually a bit hazier on Legend of Crystania... might give it a shot.

Italian TV at its (not so) finest

It's recent news that, in its half-assed and misdirected effort to cut down expenses, RAI (basically the Italian version of public broadcast, with the difference that over here it's basically television's big fish instead of the graveyard where programming goes to die... well, it's also that, but still) is about to axe a few of its cable tv channels. Among them RAI Movie (public service's only 24h movie channel) and, even worse, RAI Fiction.

If you've followed me for a while on Twitter, you might have noticed I'm an incorrigible hound when it comes to 80s and 90s italian TV. I'm particularly fond of the format we over here call 'fiction', which really means tv series. They're usually cheap, by the dozen, they features the same carousel of actors over and over, and they tend to be a pretty good mirror of Italy's pop culture as a whole. This article, in loving memory of RAI Fiction's near demise, will comment on a few of my favorites. There's some good stuff from the 2000s as well, but I'll be keeping those aside for the moment.


I Cinque del Quinto Piano

Quintessential italian Tv for the true culture vulture. First aired in 1988, this sit-com features a nameless italian family, and their interactions as they unfold mostly in a single environment - their living room. There's Edoardo, father and editor at a small press; Gisella, former singing talent and now owner of a fashion boutique; Gianfilippo, son and token slacker uni student; Stefania, high schooler interested more in boys and girls over school; and Simone, the youngest son whose main mission is to annoy his older siblings. A fairly typical family from 80s Milan burgeoisie, but there's little politics at stake here: rather, the series focuses on the bizzarre, often surreal interactions between cast members, where the comedy mostly comes from each one's own archetype being pushed to its limits. Comedian Gian Fabio Bosco aside, the series features mostly nobodies, who did very little after this show.

Passioni

For a totally different kind of show, Passioni. Big american family sagas like Beautiful  or The Guiding Light were a huge hit in Italy, and this two-part show (1993) was the country's take on it. Produced by Titanus and Berlusconi Communications (soon-to-be Mediaset), Passioni focuses on the dramas of the Boldano family, and an adulterous event that will change, years later, the lives of all involved. Betrayals, blackmailing, illnesses and bankrupcies abound. Lots of well-known italian actors in this one: Gigi Proietti, Virna Lisi, Lorenzo Flaherty and many others. Notable is the moving title sequence featuring Cocciante's Il Tempo. 

Il Maresciallo Rocca

Now, this one's a classic! While the previous two will be mostly unknown to today's general public, famous Carabiniere Rocca (played by legendary actor Gigi Proietti)'s crime-fighting adventures have become an italian TV cult, often re-aired even on RAI Fiction. Running from 1996 to 2005, the series follows Rocca as he goes through a series of family tragedies, in parallel with criminal-of-the-day storylines that tend to resolve in one or two episodes. While drama abounds, the overall tone is actually fairly light, with comedy provided mostly by Proietti's stereotypical portrayal of a Roman no-nonsense, old fashioned man who gets hopelessly left behind as times change. It also inspired a slew of italian police-themes series, such as Il Capitano or R.I.S.

Un Medico in Famiglia

Another classic. Running from 1998 to 2016, the mammoth tv show follows the adventures of titular public health doctor Lele and his extended clan of sons, daughters, relatives, friends, and colleagues. There is some mild drama (runaway kids, a couple deaths) but overall the tone is as comedic as it gets: of particular note is Lele's father Libero (played by famous italian actor Lino Banfi), an old-fashioned retired train conductor, who finds it harder and harder to cope with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren's increasingly wild and contemporary lifestyles. Lots of famous faces in this one, including Milena Vukotic, Giulio Scarpati, and Claudia Pandolfi.

This is but a few of the hundreds fictions produced by italian TV over the 80s and 90s - if you want to find out more, I suggest perusing the rather exhaustive wikipedia entry on the subject.