2003/07/15 (火) 22:56:34        [mirai]
"Divergence Eve" -- it's sooo weird. 

And not in a good way, after 2 episodes.

Summary: in the future, humans are expanding through the universe
using quantum-tunnel wormhole shortcuts through inflationary
microverses.  Unfortunately, we have just encountered strange
murderous beasts concurrently expanding through the same network of 
wormholes.  And all women have neon hair and breasts the size of 
watermelons.  

To get an idea of how strange this series feels, imagine "Babylon 5"
with the major roles filled by the Backstreet Boys - wearing two
foot long prosthetic dildos.  That they frequently jiggle and move
for audience appreciation while piloting spacecraft or fighting for 
their lives.  What's more, the enormous, er, sexual characteristics 
don't seem to be some sort of nihilistic exercise in narrative 
deconstruction on the part of  the series's creators, who seem to be 
expecting them to mesh positively with, and compliment, a deadly 
serious hard-SF storyline.

It doesn't help that the crappy 3D Computer Graphics used for the 
alien monsters makes them look and move like spray-painted rubber 
toys.  I suspect that the monster fights were done by a separate 
animation team than the rest of the show, since the fights take 
place against an empty white background rather than composited 
logically into the regular scenery, and have farcically bad motion 
and realism.  The non-fight 3DCG is of average but not horrible 
quality, another weird and inconsistent aspect to the show.

It also doesn't help that the characters seem to be tired genre
stereotypes without any hint of individuality or depth.  And why
would any self-respecting space command ship a girl as air-headed
as out lead halfway across the universe to a space station in a
war zone?

The ending is perhaps weirdest of all.  Imagine the "Macarena"
video being placed at the end of "Aliens" and you'll have some
idea.

Apparently "Divergence Eve" was originally based on some sort of
fusion Bishoujo/Horror/Fighting game.  I guess somethings, like 
cinnamon sugar on pepperoni pizza, were never meant to go together.