Hello one and all! Welcome back to the Randomizer As you
will remember, it's been a fortnight since I wrote my Margaret Thatcher
article, to some supportive comments from friends on Facebook. Since that time
I have been focusing on my book writing to make up with the length of time I
took with the article. But now normal service should be resumed right.
So I've been thinking now to just lower the tone a little
bit and talk about rabbits. Yep, rabbits. They are quite the annoyingly cute
kind of animal aren't they? So lovely, probably nice to cuddle, always hopping
about in the countryside and breed as fuck. And as Watership Down tells us,
they actually have their own language called Lapine. Whether this makes as or
more intelligent then dolphins remains to be seen (I prefer that because if
dolphins were so intelligent, wouldn't they be saying we're awesome?)
But there is a TV show about rabbits partaking in crazy
adventures ranging from simply being in a police jail to going through the
floors of a department store and going into a forest. And it's made in Japan.
Make of that what you will. And this is called: Usavich.
A show that is for those of a specific taste, it's a silent
comedy (albeit some speaking roles from few characters) with a lot of slapstick
moments, facial expressions that add to the comedy, and even transvestite
chickens! Not something you see everyday, unless you're on Youtube most of the
time. It is a strange series at times because of the surreal situations that
open up before you. But personally I find it enjoyable. I keep bringing myself
back to it and I can't explain why! Maybe it's because I find it a guilty
pleasure in its inherent silliness. Oddly enough, the series does have Russian
elements in it, if not being set entirely in Russia! Well, if vodka isn't the
give-away I don't know what is.
I first came across this show when I went down to the Steel
City (or Sheffield as it's more commonly known) for a friend's birthday do and
the first place we hit was a little rock place called West Street Live.
Unfortunately it was akin to the 80s club Reflex in York, in that it was where
all the old people congregated and it was soooo crowded. Urgh. But one thing
stopped me from going mental in that place and it was Usavich, playing on the
TV screens in the place. I remember being so bemused by it that I kept it in my
mind despite drinking to forget (mostly from West Street Live :P). And I have
been keeping up to date with it for the most part, or at least trying to. It
does come from Japan, so videos of recent seasons are hard to come by.
Currently there are four seasons to watch on Youtube, with
season 5 still currently being shown on different channels all over the place.
So after I've finish discussing the series with you lovely people, hopefully
you will go watch it and be either become a fan, or just think it's mentally
insane. Which it is, but that's not the point.
So here we go with talking about Usavich.
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First, let's talk characters.
The two main characters of the series are called Putin (Ha!)
and Kirenenko. Both of them wear near identical prison clothes, with different
colour schemes to differiate between them (Putin wears green and Kirenenko
wears red).
Putin (Ha!) is a playful, yet so innocent creature who gets
caught up in troubling events in the first place. He is also a very bad
lightweight; anything alcoholic drink he has turns him drunk.
He's not hopelessly naive though, as his mechanical skills
do help get him and Kirenenko get of tough situations. And he is a cook too, as
long as no one fucks up the cooking (which can happen behind his back).
Kirenenko on the other hand is the complete opposite. He was
part of the Mafia along with his twin brother Killnenko, but was sent in prison
and shared a cell with Putin (Ha! Sorry I'll stop doing that). He is a quiet
rabbit and likes everything in order. But if one crosses a line, he gets angry
and promptly beats them up. And if he pushed too far, he goes into RAGE MODE
and destroys those who did the pushing.
He is also a character who does not die easily, since he has
been:
· Poisoned
·
Shot
·
Near-beheaded
·
And possibly clubbed.
But it's not impossible to kill him and on a few occasions
that has exactly happened whether by Putin accidently, or drug intake or even
sliced in half. However he is revived easily as well if quick about it.
He also has an obsession with sneakers, which is what covers
the finale of season 1, and the whole of seasons 2 and 3. But this obsession
does lead to some revelations of his past in the season 3 finale. The villain
in that season, Zuruzorofu (try saying
that 3 times) had met Kirenenko and Killnenko beforehand. And was the original
orchestrator in blowing them up! Luckily the twins were repaired and continued
leading the mafia. Well Killnenko did since Kirenenko was in jail.
The two main characters are joined pretty early in Season 1
by the first sub-character, a transvestite baby chick called Comaneci, who
really does nothing but gets eaten and attempts to look pretty.
He's just there
to get all the abuse :P. Whenever he sees his mother (possibly father) he cries
at the prospect of a reunion! Which goes well. Actually it doesn't, the mother
gets cooked in some fashion. He does get killed on a few occasions, but like
Kirenenko he does come back to life. In season 4, he even gives birth to his
own chick and dies straight after, becoming a ghost. He gets deserted by the
crew, until he finds them in the forest. Where strangely enough, he merges with
his chick into an egg and reborn. Believe me, it's the only part in the series
I find strange. These chickens must like inbreeding or something.
The second character who joins two episodes after Comaneci
is a frog called Leningrad, who also does nothing much other then eat Comaneci
and croak.
I say much, because in every 5th episode he sets off a
musical trend that lasts for the whole duration of that episode. Other than
that, he just sits around. His family lives in the forest in Season 5,
consisted of his mother Sharapova and his father. Not sure if Sharapova is
meant as an insult or just a comedic factor. We don't get much detail about his
father except for the fact he eats anything.
The last character to join the group is the robot Mekanenko,
introduced 2/3rds of the way through in season 3.
He was built by Putin fast
after Zuruzorofu (still saying that 3 times?) sent troops to kill them. He
manages to scare them off, but subsequently shocks Putin and a resurrected
Kirenenko for fun. The whole of Season 4 revolves around him and putting his
mechanical side to good use as many things such as a washing machine, video
game machine, video phone and simply cleaning the windows. Unfortunately in the
penultimate episode, he gets beaten up by RAGE MODE Kirenenko and sent in the
trash. But he was rebuilt into the duo's car and driven off into the forest.
These characters are probably the reason WHY I keep watching
them so much. They are superbly silly, surreal and sadistic in a cartoon sort
of way. It's like the Japanese equivalent of Loony Tunes or Tom and Jerry, so
over-the-top in a good way. If I had to pick a favourite one, Kirenenko would
be it. I enjoy his violent streak and how he can come out on top even if
everything is against him. And his facial expressions are simple: calm, angry,
RAGE MODE. It's how he lives his life. I wouldn't mind a Kirenenko plushie
actually (my birthday is tomorrow ;) I don't mind waiting :D ). Also I do love
the Google Translation that is given on the Usavich site: Not interesting in
Putin sharing at all. I think I wouldn't too.
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Now I'm going to do a Season-By-Season review, which does
not come as spoiler-free. If you wish to avoid seeing these, then you may skip
ahead! Otherwise, if you're interested in what happens, you have been warned.
Season 5 will not be
included as to my knowledge, there is no complete version on Youtube. So
unfortunately it will not be graced with us tonight. Also I don't think each of
the seasons even do have a specific name, though the episode titles do. So for
unofficial purposes, I'll be using the episode titles for the Season name.
Season 1- Time for....
The first season is set in prison, where Putin and Kirenenko
go about their prisons lives in relative steadiness. They are constantly looked
on by The Prison Guards, yellow rabbits that hide behind doors and give the
prisoners their food, showers and exercise regimes. Don't worry, Kirenenko has
his daily beating up sessions with them. In the finale, Kirenenko comes across
some sneakers in his magazine and decides to go get them. By breaking out of
the prison. Make sense, I don't think the Prison Guards would want to see him
again! Putin instinctively follows him into a car and they drive off for their
adventure on the road.
Animation wise, it has good points and bad. The only bad
thing is, it does feel clunky at times like when Putin is doing his cosack
dance on his bed at the start of most episodes. But for the most part, it is
pretty awesome. The things that do really stand out are the fast-paced moments.
The musical episode is so enjoyable as it brings a lot of comedy out with
fly-swatting and the dancing which are superbly done! And whenever Kirenenko
gets angry, the pace is sped up fast.
The designs are pretty good, and make everything seem huger.
Kirenenko is a brilliant example because as he becomes more angry, you can
clearly see what will happen. And his RAGE FACE is fantastic. At the moment it
comes on screen, you can pretty much see how screwed everyone is. The deep
yellow eyes, the fanged mouth, the red centre in his mouth; It is a face to
fear. And love at the same time. Though
whether he holds up with the cute Killer Rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy
Grail, we'll have to wait and see.
And now we come to cultural references. Like Penises. I'm
not making this up, honest! There are lots of penis gags (OK, too far!) in the
show. In episode 4, the guard actually has a water spray placed conveniently
right at the bottom of his door and takes pleasure at spraying Putin at one
point. At least the water wasn't yellow........did I just write that? Oops. I don't know if it was meant to make it a
real world kind of situation where rabbits have a Johnson on their person, but
it's because Japanese animators have always had a thing for making graphic
depictions of situations. It's happened in Yu-Gi-Oh,
Hayao Miyazaki films and even Pokemon
(which strangely enough caused a real-life graphic depiction with the banned
Porygon episode). Watching the penis references will be a kind of distraction
for Western audiences because we don't see those references anyway on TV or
anything (apart from Game of Thrones to be fair, they're always flying around).
On the plus side, the penis jokes are less referred to in later seasons so you
may carry on in peace.
As I've said before, most of the humour comes from the
character's personalities and they are very good in this season. The way
they're introduced at the start gives you from the off the impression of what
they are like.
Putin is pretty naive to the core, like when he's opening
all those colourful doors only to reveal the implementations of death behind
them. He's kind of like George in Blackadder
Goes Forth, unbelievably optimistic and happy with life. But of course like
the fish slapping him in the face, he gets a great amount of abuse thrown at
him.
Kirenenko probably isn't as psychopathic to begin with, but
he is pretty angry and provokes some great reactions from the guards, like
bricking up the wall whenever he lets loose. He practically owns them in every
respect. And that's kind of a problem I have with the guards themselves. They
are pretty stupid with handling him and are really the ones that reveal how invincible
Kirenenko really is with their incompetence. There's nothing wrong with that
because they do create a good foil to him, but I don't consider them very
rememberable.
Finally, the music. The main theme that appears is so bland
and uninteresting. It's really just a standard introduction and setting tone.
Though I suppose if you think about it, it's probably used right when nothing
is actually happening. When finally the action occurs, the tone is amped up
quickly and does add to the moment well. Kirenenko has his own simple bass beat
theme and it sounds good, but I don't think it matches his character perfectly.
Unlike his RAGE MODE, which does include the sound of an electronic alarm
blaring out as a warning of ass-kicking ahead.
The first season is a good starting point, but some bits
bring it down a notch sadly from making it perfect. There are a few good
episodes to check out like the musical one and the penultimate one where the
RAGE MODE is there for to all. It's a harmless tale and does a good job in
setting up the story arcs for the coming seasons ahead...
Season 2- Watch for....
On the road, Putin and Kirenenko come across their new
villains for the season, Boris (left) and Kopuchefu (right.....Why couldn't he have Vlad or
something?) who try to capture them, with varying failures that involve them
either being smashed or blown up, even somehow being forced to drag the car
along! Only Kirenenko could do that! Putin makes some modifactions to the car
by adding new tyres, a airplane engine (courtesy of you-know-who) and some
armour to it. Kirenenko in the mean-time reads his magazine and goes on the war
path when it gets destroyed. They finally end getting to the big city, after an
all-out brawl with the police.
The animation does get better in this season! The
expressions especially with Putin are priceless you go through the season. The
final episode delivers one of the best pieces, and everything gets thrown at
you! The police cars chasing them is hilarious, Kirenenko taking every single
of them down is brilliant and even though his RAGE MODE is glimpsed briefly,
it's a good sight to see.
Design wise, cars and tanks and airplanes take a lot of
precedence here. And some of them are pretty cool. The car Putin and Kirenenko
drive in is not very interesting, but with the modifications added later it
becomes pretty sweet to have as a ride. All the police ones however are cool
off the bat. The army tank they use is very well done and turns like a beauty,
so much better than their police one.
I must admit, one thing that threw me off was Leningard wearing
red pants. .....just why? As I'll explain later, it's not the best look to
have, especially on a frog. It's the one thing I'd consider a major design issue.
On the other hand, it might be part of the surreal world that makes it
strangely unique, if you get what I mean. But personally...I'm not entirely
sure. It jsut feels awkward.
On a higher note, the villains are so much better than the
prison guards. No matter how hard they get their asses handed to them, they do
not give up and continue to persist in their capture of the duo. Of course they
fail but it's all done spectacularly. They also keep pushing up the ante
somehow via means of rocket launchers, machine guns and the tanks as I've
talked. They get so desperate to capture them and still they fail. I think this
way around, their incompetence works to And their theme tune as they appear is pretty
awesome. A long 'waaaah' sound before hitting into the fast beat. Trust me, it
is THAT AWESOME.
As comedy goes, it is very funny. Kirenenko as we find is a
bit lazy, but I'm not knocking that at all. He does things his own way, and his
attacks on Boris and Kopuchefu are freaking excellent. But Putin has his fair
share of moments too, as he actually manages to bring pieces of the car
together and like I said his reactions are great. Like when Kirenenko actually
dies at one point, Putin just turns blue and screams, eyes nearly bulging out. The
musical episode is on par with Season 1's, and it might actually make you laugh
more and perhaps also make you appreciate it more. Finally, Kirenenko keeps
punishing Comaneci for being anywhere near his shoes. And it is pretty funny
for the most part, revealing how Kirenenko feels about his sneakers as well.
Don't fuck with Kirenenko kids.
This season is much better then Season 1 and you'd probably
see why. Everything is tweaked to make it that much better. And there is a lot
of character development, more so for Putin probably with his mechanical side
being revealed as pretty handy and Kirenenko caring only for his collection of
sneakers. That's probably the most surprising thing, that you learn a bit of
the characters in this season and how they can actually, for lack of a better
word, NEED each other for their situations. It's never spoken out at all, but
you can sort of see it before your eyes. I wonder what the next season might
reveal for us...
Season 3-Floor Number...
Kirenenko and Putin stop by a mafia run building, disguised
as a department store, so Kirenenko can get the sneakers he found in the
magazine. But Zuruzorofu, our next villain is more the kind to kill on sight.
So the duo climb through the 13 floors of the store to get the shoes. After a
death experience and failures at getting the shoes, the group manage to get to
the top. By bringing it down to them, thanks to Kirenenko's RAGE MODE.
Kirenenko gets the shoes and Zuruzorofu is arrested by the old antagonists
Boris and Kopuchefu, wrapping up mostly all the arcs and the gang live happily
ever after.
Again, the animation is impressive even though it's less
complex from season 2. A lot of things do happen in the blink of an eye, so you
need to keep some attention to what's happening, but some bits like Kirenenko
falling through the trap door and smashing the waiter onto the table are
stunning to take in. The expressions used throughout are priceless again.
Putin's reaction simply falling to his supposed death is fantastic, just a
blank stare with the white face. You can't help but laugh at that. Well I
can't, I don't know about you. And Zuruzorofu's expressions are good too,
seeing how Kirenenko does these impossible things against him. As for the
annual musical episode, it was on par with its predecessors. It felt quite a seamless
creation where everything just fitted right, and the music itself is enjoyable
to listen. There is a nice-call back to the fish slapping from the first episode
which gets a good laugh.
Design wise, thank GOD Leningrad had that blue and white
stripy top with the blue shorts. Still weird, but not as weird as having just
red underwear on. You do get used to it over time. And the minions costumes are
good too. Though they do look as if they're wearing gimp masks. Maybe they read
50 shades of disturbed people and thought: 'fuck this I want the real
experience'. But I digress. The numbers on their uniforms are a nice touch too.
Though some of the gangster rabbits you see hanging around the building are hit
and miss. Some of them look cool, but some just look just weird. And I must
say, I do have a little soft spot for the afro rabbit in episode 5. He pulls
that look off well!
Our villain Zuruzorofu is pretty good, but maybe not as good
as Boris and Kopuchefu. He is also a little shit at that, making sure Kirenenko
does not get the star sneakers he so desperately wants. And the ways he does
that is just as psychopathic as Kirenenko. But he doesn't do a lot under his
weight, usually letting his minions do the work. He was quite clever, but his
plans always somehow back-fired on him in unlucky manner, so I won't knock him
too much. Mostly, I feel that he is not a stronger villain than Boris and
Kopuchefu and less enjoyable, possibly because he is a bit of a weakling. Boris
and Kopuchefu did things with their own hands, while Zuruzorofu just laid back.
There are two bit of music I like to talk about. First, a
romantic piece whenever Kirenenko comes across the sneakers in episodes 6 and
12. I can guess on first viewing, it sounds weird. You wouldn't expect a piece
to appear in a series such as this. And it still sounds weird anyway, but in a
good way. On the other hand, it does match up with Kirenenko pretty well. His
love for the sneakers is undisputed and he doesn't want to part himself away
from them. It is a pretty good tune to use for those moments.
The second is from the penultimate episode as well, when Kirenenko
goes into RAGE MODE. It sounds AWESOME!! As Kirenenko literally brings the
department store down, the music is one of the best pieces in the entire
series! It is an angry song and you can very well see why. Kirenenko is not
going to stop until he gets those shoes and SMASHES those floors OUT OF THE
BUILDING.
There are a lot of laughs guaranteed in this season as much
as season 2. The way Putin flaunts himself after he drinks alcohol, and being
not very good at keeping it down is good. The way Mekanenko just fucks around with
everything in sight is good. And you get the usual bits like Leningrad
constantly eating Comancei, even though he was turned into a ghost from
poisonous fumes. The moments are pretty close and make for enjoyable viewing.
Though in a way, the series is slightly tamer then in Season 2. There is still
obviously the degree of violence and surreal moments, but they're kept more at
a steady pace.
Season 3 is
enjoyable, but not as much as Season 2 was. Zuruzorofu is a weaker villain than
Boris and Kopuchefu despite his reactions to the situations happening before
him. Everything else is on par, with having some great moments of action and
comedy. I would say that in a way, this is Kirenenko's defining moment....well
maybe I'll push that up a bit, Kirenenko's defining SEASON! It revolves around
him a lot and his successful journey at getting the damn sneakers from the end
of season 1. Putin gets some good moments too, but doesn't get in the way so
much. And most of the story arcs are cleared up....apart from what to do with
Mekanenko? Next season!
Season 4- ....Machine
This final season I will cover plays out similarly like
Season 1, because they are in the same location and it centres around Mekanenko
most of the time. There are some great situations where Mekanenko pretty much
fucks everyone around on different occasions, like when being a washing machine
and cooking all the food. Kirenenko puts him in his place sometimes, and uses
him for his own fun. But when Mekanenko actually PUTS on the sneakers and rips
them, Kirenenko goes into RAGE MODE and kicks his ass. But before long they are
discovered by Boris and Kopuchefu and are forced to escape into the forest.
Let's talk about Mekanenko to start with. He is a cool
character in his own right and quite enjoyable silly. He has his own bitchy and
malfunctioning personality, making him different besides looking like
Kirenenko. The humour he brings to the table is good to get laughs of the
people because even though Putin makes him into different machines, he still
has two screws short of a plasma TV. In the penultimate, he does the most gravous
sin ever in the show: he puts on the star sneakers. And Kirenenko's reaction?
RAGE MODE!!! Duly dumping him in the trash, but not before the two have a
massive battle, and Mekanenko reveal his own RAGE MODE, which fails completely
and Kirenenko kicks his ass. In design terms, it is a cool design to have
(especially as I've noticed just yesterday that he even has a plug tail.
Sweeeeet). It is a 90 per cent look to Kirenenko, albeit with some different
ears and green eyes and the robotic claws. Good Character, not much bad I can
say about him.
Animation is enjoyable still. It still holds a kind of
simplicity from season 3, but some visuals are quite complex to have done like
with Mekanenko's lasers and his vacuuming sucking everything inside. I noted
earlier that this season was probably similar to Season 1. And.....yes, I think
so. Nothing really happens, there's no enemy to confront (those guards are not
villains, just annoying occurrences), just everyday antics involving the duo
and their robot fucking about. There's not much fast paced business now, so the
animation takes it time and doesn't rush things, giving it a more slow easy time
to let the episodes flow. Oddly, I do think that there are fewer expressions
done throughout the series.
Musical Episode = Still enjoyable. Next!
Most of the humour does come from Mekanenko and Putin just
fucking about with each other. Kirenenko is put to one side for most of the
season, until forcibly brought into these different situations by Mekanenko.
Which I don't think is shameful much. His story arc is pretty much over for the
time being, so all he does is beat up Mekanenko up and makes him work to his
advantage and fun. The series is still funny, and I hope you'll laugh with it
as much as I have.
Though there are some strange moments again, like in Washing
Machine. Comancei has grown up and Mekanenko takes his clothes off to wash and reveals...a
thong. Yep, you read that right, a thong. It is a startling sight to see before
you and you will either laugh at it, or just think 'wtf is that?'. I'm the
latter in all honesty. Maybe it's a cultural reference in Japan that threw me
off it, but meh. It's there and I'm still watching the series. No reason not
to.
Season 4 is probably the quietest of the lot but by no means
is it the weakest. It has genuine funny moments, good set-ups and a very good
ending (with Boris and Kopuchefu making a return carrying wanted posters for
Kirenenko). You still got your usual bits with Leningrad and Comancei
(including his son, Comancei Jr) and Mekanenko is still part of the team, now
modified into the car itself and taking the duo into the forest, where Season 5
takes place....
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What else can I say about Usavich that hasn't been said?
It's an enjoyable series to watch, but admittedly it is something that won't
get everyone's attention. It's an acquired taste, only for those who have a
cartoonish over-the-top surreal humour. Watching the series again in a more
critical light, I still enjoy the over-the-top appeal it has. The setting is
surreal yet fantastic, the characters ridiculous yet hilarious. And I enjoy the
fuck out of it so much and will continue to do so for the while yet.
There is one final thing that I will say. I have wondered
whether this kind of series would be acceptable for people who are on the
autistic spectrum?
I say this because of a survey done by the National Autistic
Society on Thomas the Tank Engine. Wow. Thomas the Tank Engine and Usavich in
the same article. Who would've thought it? Anyway, I remembered reading this
article, and falling back to it I saw this piece:
Most interesting perhaps is the
learning of facial expressions and emotions mentioned spontaneously by 8% of
parents. Even when a child with autism speaks, their 'communication' is often
poor because of the missing 'theory of mind' - understanding people and their
thoughts and emotions. The suggestion from this research is that Thomas helps
children with autism to build up some basic 'theory of mind' knowledge.
(Children with Autism and Thomas
the Tank Engine, National Austic Society)
So it's said that Thomas the Tank Engine helped autistic
children understand what the different range of emotions look like and build up
that awareness to help them in later life.
Usavich is like this in a similar way, because of the facial
expressions mainly used. Kirenenko's expressions are pretty basic: calm, anger,
and RAGE MODE. Putin likewise shows the more different range of emotions, like
happiness, shock, tiredness and faint etc. Those expressions help in the humour
of the show and could attract autistic people to watching it.
Another similar way is the distinctive clothing that the
main characters have, specifically the prison stripes. Kirenenko's colour is
red, while Putin's colour is green. So it could help understand about colours
as well. Though I have to admit, that is as far as that goes since all the
other characters don't have specific colours with which to match the character
and could confuse autistic people.
So possibly as a theory, Usavich might be something used to
help autistic people in the same manner as Thomas the Tank Engine in future.
Obviously for a more adult audience, I'm not exactly sure a psychopathic rabbit
is a good role model for 10 year olds. But if anyone wants to take that idea
on, come back to me with the results!
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And that is it for this edition of The Randomizer.
A couple days ago, I felt quite foolish since I never put up
any contact details or such so you guys can send me messages to show what the
Randomizer means to you. If you have any queries, comments or any other tidbits you'd like to mention, send an e-mail to:
I will try to reply back as soon as I can. For now, goodbye.
Until the next fortnight, keep out of trouble, and remember:
Don't fuck with Kirenenko!
