The Law of Ueki

cassiesheepgirl Jun 26, 2010

6.3

StoryThinking back on my personal history of anime, Law of Ueki was one of my first shounen series (the earliest being Bleach back when it was all plot and no filler). So I’ve found that revisiting this show after much more experience in the genre and far more episodes than I’d care to calculate has been an interesting experience. It’s been twenty-five years since the current God came into power and now the time has come to select who will take over. The method of choice is the God selection battle where one hundred candidates each select a middle school student who will fight in their stead and give them a single heavenly power. Kousuke Ueki is a young boy with a strong sense of justice and has been chosen by Kobasen to represent him in the tournament. Law of Ueki follows this one boy and his ability to turn trash into trees as he progresses through the increasingly difficult rounds while attempting to protect his new friends, defeat his enemies, and preserve the justice he so heartily believes in. As much as I enjoy and love this series, I can’t deny that it’s cliché-ridden from start to finish. To begin with, there’s Ueki himself: a young boy with an uber-strong resolve, a freakish amount of stamina and an unbelievable recovery rate. Despite being a bit dim, he is some kind of genius prodigy when it comes to levelling up and has the mysterious ability to change the lives of everyone he meets. Then the show foists upon us the good old standard of shovelling bucketfuls of teamwork, honour and friendship down everyone’s throats until they gag on its fluffiness. Throw in the shounentastic habit of yelling out your abilities/attacks every five minutes and about five billion emotional/heartbreaking flashbacks, and you’ve got yourself a big ol’ barrelful of stereotypes – hardly groundbreaking storytelling. On top of the clichés, some plot points border on the ridiculous, such as the sadistic whip-wielding doctor who acts more like a yakuza boss with a big-arsed drill hidden under his car bonnet, or the Dogura Mansion battle fought atop a giant cake, complete with icing and strawberries – seriously, I couldn’t make this stuff up. It’s not just the narrative that strolls into the outlandish; the various abilities seen throughout would also win awards for being bloody weird. I’m pretty sure that if you asked a kid what superpower they would want, it wouldn’t be turning tomatoes into magma or transforming electricity into sugar (no, I didn’t get that last one the wrong way round, it’s just that strange). Still, the ludicrous side of Law of Ueki comprises a large part of its charm, especially since it’s quite interesting to see the sheer variety of attacks that spawn from seemingly lame abilities. While turning garbage into plant life seems like a useless battle technique, watching Ueki use various types of trees as bats, whips, a barrage of flying stakes and more certainly impresses. While technically the shounen stereotypes, ridiculous story elements and various plot holes (it’s amazing how Sano can keep his steel rods stiff while holding his breath AND yammering on for minutes on end about whatever) should make this series a complete turn-off, it actually kind of works. The whole show is fun; there’s plenty of action, so many battles that I’ve actually lost count, and a good dose of comedy that helps keep the mood light. Law of Ueki also has fairly fast pacing; from the first episode the viewer gets thrust into the action without much of an introduction – not that this matters since you pick up information along the way. The battles themselves don’t last particularly long, and while there’s still plenty of standing around chatting mid-fight, few of the bouts span more than an episode so even the lamest of clashes won’t eat away at too much of your time.AnimationAhh, Studio Deen… I want to love you, I really do – you’ve produced some of my favourite series – but you make some truly naff-looking anime. Law of Ueki happens to be one of the company’s less-than-stellar productions. While there are the standard masses of still shots and action lines a-plenty, that isn’t anything out of the ordinary in a shounen anime. My main gripe comes with the sub-par animation. Tenko’s lip-syncing is terrible… actually strike that. Tenko’s lip-synching is non-existent. While making some giant, multi-fanged creature talk can’t be easy, I’m pretty sure that randomly having the beast open and close his mouth in a manner akin to a particularly gormless goldfish isn’t the optimal solution to this problem. The general movement isn’t all that hot either, often lacking in-between frames so the overall effect comes across as choppy and stilted. One scene in particular with Ueki and B.J. hip-hop dancing down the street looks particularly awkward and embarrassing (well, even more shameful than publicly body popping in the first place). While better than the animation, Law of Ueki’s visual design still doesn’t impress all that much. The bold, simplistic facial features and bright colour palette complement the wacky plot well, but the characters themselves tend to look quite ugly at times.SoundI must say that I do have quite the soft spot for this anime’s soundtrack. Tada Akifumi cleverly utilises variations on a central melody to effectively convey different moods. The main theme consists of full orchestral epicness with plenty of rousing brass tones to really heighten the triumphant feel of whatever scene it accompanies. Then a slower string-based adaptation creates a more melancholy atmosphere, especially with its deep cello solo towards the beginning, whereas a final take on this tune uses steel drums to generate a more relaxed and laid-back ambience for those between-battle breaks. Along with a variety of other symphonic tracks, Law of Ueki’s background music performs suitably well, although it can get a little cheesy at times. Law of Ueki’s voice actors provide sufficient performances throughout the series. Though Romi Park’s Ueki sounds almost identical to her Edward Elric, she does a good job of capturing the young boy’s clueless nature and determination to succeed. Tomoko Kawakami manages to successfully convey Mori’s brash and inherently irritating personality – though my intense dislike for the character does make me want to claw my ears off every time she yells something on screen.CharactersMori is one of the most irritating creatures I’ve had the misfortune to watch on screen. Her main role involves stalking Ueki wherever he goes, berating him for not taking anything seriously enough, and standing around stating the bleeding obvious like the audience is too thick to notice that different coloured bubbles do different things. Of course, she does serve one other purpose: she stands around and yells “Uekiiiiiiiii” at the top of her gratingly irritating lungs a lot – much like Orihime and her incessant yelping of “Kurosaki-kuuuun” in Bleach. Well done Mori, you are officially a waste of space. Aside from the turquoise-haired tart, Law of Ueki’s characters don’t really attempt to break the mold (though kudos to mangaka Tsubasa Fukichi for naming two of his characters Wanko and B.J – that certainly brings a smile to my face every time someone calls out to them. The entire cast remains pretty standard from start to finish. Our main protagonists range from ridiculously powerful to extremely bloody useless, while representing the ultimately likeable and comedic underdogs of the tournament. Meanwhile, the legions of antagonists fall into two categories: misguided youngsters whose lives change at meeting Ueki, or cruel/vicious/power-mad asshats who are just waiting for that satisfying – yet inevitable – smackdown. I’ll give Law of Ueki its due, it does attempt to give pretty much everyone some kind of backstory; however, this is also means that even the really minor characters who only appear for an episode or two end up with their own dull little flashbacks. Anyone remember the guy who loved running, and his touching past? No, didn’t think so, because he’s a one-shot antagonist that plays very little part in the grand scheme of things, and to be honest, no one really cares.OverallI’d love to give this show a much higher score based purely on my own enjoyment – I’ve now watched it twice and found myself completely sucked in on both occasions – but it does have its faults. Law of Ueki is kind of like the Pot Noodle of the anime world; you know it’s kind of crap with its dehydrated vegetables (overused clichés) and Soya “chicken” bits (bland animation), but you still wolf it down regardless and love every sloppy second of it – even when you’re cleaning the spots off your glasses where that last noodle flicked up in your face.

ThatAnimeSnob Jul 28, 2012

3

Animated by studio DEEN, which means you know it’s going to suck. The production values are plain mediocre for their time. The soundtrack is pop stuff I never care about and the animation is stiffy, all means to save money with frozen characters and moving mouths only. Voice acting is ok, although the constant emoness of the opponents and the morality monologues of the protagonist were getting to my nerves all the time. Directed by Watanabe Hiroshi, who has done nothing but forgettable mediocrities, such as Orphen, Star Ocean, King of Bandits Jing, and Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok. He also did a season of Slayers but even that famous retro means very little today. The problem with this anime is the same with most of its kind. It’s too basic for a shounen despite handling its premise very well and it definitely did not deserve two full seasons. There isn’t any mystery or much of hidden motives in it, so it gets repetitive and predictable early on.Ueki as a protagonist is your archetypical shounen hero; you can replace him with any other shounen protagonist and you won’t even tell the difference. He is stupid, impolite, rushes towards trouble driven by his ideals, and has a million times more stamina points than anyone else in the show. As cool as it felt for a few episodes, you eventually see that this is all there is about him, he doesn’t develop beyond that, nor questions his morality, and being stuck on a mindset all the way is exactly what makes him boring in the longrun. His unshaken beliefs in justice and trust are so unbelievably extreme to the point you just can’t take them seriously. No matter the situation, his resolve is helping those who are weak against the unjust. I mean it’s ok to have all that in a show aimed at 6 year olds but it becomes pointless if all the backing up he has for his ideals are his broken powers and infinite durability. Thank you very much; I could win all the time like that too and I could be as bad as I want simply because nobody can beat me. I am sure it is very important to teach little children such values but it sure never tries to make it appear as anything more than ownage through power.Even if one can see past that and try to like the show for the cheesefest it is, it’s still very hard to do so with the hero’s laughable superpower. He can transform garbage to trees! How lame! He passes like some sort of agent for political-correct tree-hugging propaganda. And as we all know shows that try to be too political-correct suck ass since the only anime that are worth your time are those doing the exact opposite.So because this is a shitty morality brainwasher show, the story can be described in a few lines. The whole plot is just Ueki trying to win a fighting tournament and becoming a celestial god that will affect the entire world. His opponents are other kids with superpowers, most of which are emo because of something cruel that has happened in their life. So you can imagine how the deal goes; he keeps shoveling monologues around “justice is very important” or “friendship is unbeatable” or “protect and love Mother Nature”. Yes, very sweet and innocent. AND GODDAMN LAME if you are no longer 6 years old. I knew right away that if his morality speeches won’t get his opponents, then a big punch to the face will. And it’s not like the villains can hope to win since his hit points are endless. Thank you very much for the boredfest; there is no actual character development here. Again, I am not saying the premise is bad or the protagonist is not handled well. It’s just that it is very simplistic to the point it becomes predictable and repetitive in just a few episodes. It never tries to be anything more than what your first impression of it will be, it never questions its premise just to spice things up, it never flavors the setting or the characters with something other than a new set of clothes and some extra attack every 20 episodes. No plot twists, expected shounen formula, it all gets dull fast enough. As much as I dislike a shounen like Naruto, I admit that it has a variety of themes, many memorable and interesting characters, and a world that is constantly enriched and mysterious. Well you don’t get all that in Ueki; it is simplistic and stereotypical. There aren’t even any other characters besides Ueki to pay notice to. Seriously, why is the lead girl following him around? She is always there nagging and complaining and doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING USEFUL! GIRLS IN SHOUNEN ARE USELESS!Hell, the whole show is useless. It ends and you feel like the hero didn’t get any reward for saving the world. Where is this celestial godhood they were talking about the whole time that would reshape reality? He just returned to his boring school life without anyone even caring about saving the world from emo kids. YOU CALL THAT AN ENDING? Where is the catharsis? What was the point of all that? Friendship is magic? Go buy a pony. As far as action goes, the show is very good if all you want is superpowers. Each fighter has really crazy abilities and uses them in comical or wowing ways that cause mass destruction. Of course there isn’t any real strategy here, since Ueki is the winner simply for being the protagonist. And surely, seeing him grabbing garbage and turning them to trees in an instant can grow boring very fast. Sure, later on he learns more special attacks yet the whole thing by then looks closer to a circus rather a serious battle for the future of the world. Skip that, just like in Naruto they are explaining to the enemy how their power works, a thing which results to mostly talking rather than fighting. As far as comedy goes, the show has some tired immature jokes centered on slapstick or misunderstandings. Nothing too bold or that different than the average shounen out there. In terms of drama, it always has to do with 10 year old kids whose brother is mean or whose boss is evil before Ueki kicks their sorry asses and makes them his lapdogs or they plain disappear from the story. Very ephemeral and overall forgettable stuff. So let me sum it up. Ueki is a completely forgettable shounen show; not because it is not directed properly but because it plays out too simple and safe. There are lots of other shows with far more exciting stories, plot twists, political incorrect characters, heck even in terms of fan service Ueki plain lacks. It is plain steamed rice without any seasoning and for that you will most likely be bored and drop it for One Piece or Fairy Tail. Plus it’s made by DEEN. Not recommended. And now for some excused scorings. ART SECTION: 5/10 Analysis: General Artwork 1/2, Character Figures 1/2, Backgrounds 1/2, Animation 1/2, Visual Effects 1/2 SOUND SECTION: 6/10 Analysis: Voice Acting 2/3, Music Themes 2/4, Sound Effects 2/3 STORY SECTION: 2/10 Analysis: Premise 1/2, Pacing 1/2, Complexity 0/2, Plausibility 0/2, Conclusion 0/2 CHARACTER SECTION: 3/10 Analysis: Presence 1/2, Personality 1/2, Backdrop 1/2, Development 0/2, Catharsis 0/2 VALUE SECTION: 1/10 Analysis: Historical Value 0/3, Rewatchability 0/3, Memorability 1/4 ENJOYMENT SECTION: 1/10 Analysis: Art 0/1, Sound 0/2, Story 1/3, Characters 0/4 VERDICT: 3/10

wolfemperor Jan 1, 2013

7

Story:     5/10 Law of Ueki has a great story but it seems very similar to other anime such as Dragon Ball, Yu Yu Hakusho, and a few others. People with strange abilities fight each other and the last one left standing is the winner. There are a lot of plot twists that keep the story interesting, but there also seem to be a few flaws. At points, there seem to be after thoughts that until that point, no on knows about, but instantly after it is mentioned, every one instantly knows about that fact. One was about everyone suddenly knowing everyone’s number of zai and mentioning Ueki's number of zai. Another was Ueki being a heavenly being and robert suddenly knowing and also stating that he was one too. So there are great points, and points that just seemed to be forgotten and added right before the episode came out. Animation:     8/10 The animation is pretty standard of the time it came out. There are some cool effects with how some of the powers look, but it doesn't really seem to wow me in any way. Some of the effects of the powers or even the look of some of the sacred treasures were cool but it wasn't added to every part of the anime. Overall the animation had cool parts but wans't overly impressive. Sound:     9/10 The sound track to this anime seemed to work out quite well with the story and the mood at the time. There were upbeat songs for happy times like winning a battle or other happy moments. In the heat of battle, there was music to reflect an intense fight. When someone was about to lose a battle, the music also got intense. At sad moments in the anime, sadder music was played, and overall the soundtrack seemed to reflect every type of mood the anime produced. Characters:     6/10 The characters in this anime weren't overly impressive. There were a few main characters, but they didn't really seem to developed as well as main characters should be. The only characters that really stood out were Ueki, and Mori. The other characters had their moments but at times mostly seemed to just be there for background instead of main characters. There also wasn't much development in enemies for the first half of the anime. It was small skirmishes here and there but there wasn't really a main "bad guy" until Robert appeared. Overall:     7/10 In the end, there are a number of pluses and minuses to this anime. overall, it seemed to be pretty good but there seemed to be a number of plot holes or at least after thoughts put in at the last minute. The story and some of the characters could have been developed a little better, especially considering the number of episodes, but other than these few shortcomings, the anime isn't bad, it was actually quite enjoyable.