Gold Digger

Publisher
Antarctic Press
Director
Fred Perry
Production
Antarctic Press
Country of origin
US
Format
Series
Running time
25 mins
Year
2001

Gold Digger : Timeraft OAV Volume 2

By David Rasmussen
14th Apr 07

“A Modern Manga Masterpiece”
Backcover intro to the Pocket Manga volumes

“A thrill ride that may never end.”
WIZARD : The Guide to Comics

For the Diggers sisters of Gina, Britanny, and soon to be “born” sister Brianna (which may never happen at this rate in terms of her animated “birth“), life is seldom boring… which brings us to the quandary of the animated lives of the Diggers sisters which, while disappointing, may also not be the easiest thing to remedy in either the short or long term. But that is neither here nor there so for now, however, embrace the feel good moments that spawn a consistent slash unbreakable chain of 5 out of 5 glowing reviews of Gold Digger the AmeriManga Series.

What with 15 going on 16 years old, Fred Perry’s Gold Digger is still to this date one of the essential cornerstones of the AmeriManga franchise. But that’s the AmeriManga franchise, when it comes to it’s newfound status as an animation however (eventually cracking the big 5 sooner or later in terms of birth) it’s going to need abit more work (which we may never see, sadly) before it becomes the animation experiment to remember. Unfortunately for that to occur it’ll require a lot more money, which means we as a community need to go out and buy more DVDs to up the sales (pump more money into it), and make our dreams come true… or not. Not the easiest of answers but at least (after this review) we should have a few things to look forward to (if I may tantalize your taste buds for a future that should taste sweeter in regards to Gold Digger the Animated’s future).

When it comes to Gold Digger the Manga, this & Ben Dunn’s Ninja High School, are just some of Antarctic’s contributions to the long history of the genre (earning a high score for jobs well done).
Gold Digger the Animation, however, while it draws from a rich history is also at it‘s infant stage and has a long way to grow before it truly lives up to the box hype of being a “sequel without equal“ (or a true heir to the legacy that is Gold Digger the AmeriManga). I guess we come into the picture now, and we invest our money into it’s future by buying the DVDs, and the CD-Roms… and… and… (blinks)… more money making merchandise needed, thanks. Anyway we do all that and… then what? Good question.

Here’s what you are considering taking your wallet out on in the first place, Gold Digger the OAV Series (middle point of the series). This may bring back the Golden Age of Gold Digger in animated format, but with far better storyarcs from the Golden Age of Gold Digger to draw from? I have to say that I was abit disappointed that Timeraft was used, let alone that it only focused on the Timeraft Super Special issue (which represents about the first 20% or so (give or take x amount of percentage) of the first pocket manga volume) and does not touch into the subsequent 4-issue mini series that came right after that (which is one of quite a few downers I had concerning this 3-OAV (OVA) run).

With a limited budget, and only enough time to do it one time? I would have thought focusing in on the content of Gold Digger Max (featuring A Science Affair, Asrial vs. Cheetah (Britanny), GD -18 and Beta) would have made for better viewing than Timeraft, but seeing how what’s done is done there’s no crying over Britanny stealing Gina’s tuna salad sandwich. Let’s peek at Timeraft.

OK. Let’s see. Halfway through the short “Timeraft” story we catch up to an angry Dreadwing who, besides being an uptight talking sentient dragon thing, is also possessing one Timeraft of Merlin but no means by which to make said Timeraft go. He needs a starting button (Dee Dee must have took it), or an extra set of keys (check your pockets -- wait, get some pockets and then check them), Excalibur (the sword and not the violent slash sexually charged cult classic UK movie based on the King Arthur legend) or whatever. In order to make this so called “Timeraft” go it seems the capture of our intrepid duo of Gina and Britanny is in… oh dear god is THAT what they sound like? (-_-). Well… it’s not horrible or anything but, well, damn! Why does listening to Britanny’s voice actress make me cringe?

Getting over hearing the voices of Britanny (which is so not cute) and Gina (pweeh?) who are promptly captured by soon to be lovable secondary characters Mesha & Tark, the duo are promptly brought to dinner for a “My Dinner With Andre” style face to face with Dreadwing who promptly tries to pass himself off as the good dragon in this scenario. That is all well and good, mind you, but maybe they should be suspicious of his good intentions when he throws in the obligatory 109th Congress approved use of a “bribe” to get Gina and Britanny on his side.

As the episode (extremely brief one at that, clocking in at 20 minutes or so) ends it looks like Mesha and Tark are playing with fire as they are about to swap sides and convince the Diggers sisters to help them foil Dreadwing’s plans. Not good, especially since he is already onto their plans which makes things look rather bleak as the 2nd of three volumes comes to a close. And that’s it. Short, wasn’t it.
Outlining the first Gold Digger story… and that’s about it… Gold Digger the OAV is what it says to be, an adaptation of the Timeraft story, and that’s it. Yes, that’s all well and good and all I suppose, but as Leonard Nimoy once put it in Star Trek : The Motionless Pic… I mean (cough must learn to leave my Star Trek misgivings home) Star Trek : The Motion Picture, “Is this all that I am? Is there nothing more?”

Sadly, for Gold Digger the OAV despite the fact it‘s supposed to be a Special Edition (but doesn’t live up to said promise due to a lack of financial greasing) this really IS all that it is, and there is nothing more. Yes, yes, there is an audio commentary from Fred Perry in this but really, everyone and their fifth cousins put audio commentary on their stuff from time to time so what‘s so special about that. Other than that while it is “Special“ in name only, in fact there is NOTHING special about this release. Sadly, however, I guess this is abit much to ask in terms of changes due to the fact there isn’t the money to do more, despite the fact you were all diligent in selling out the original run of Volume 1 DVD/VHS as far as I know of it.

What is reasonable and what is not reasonable? Sadly a lot of the things that would make Volume 3 special is not in the cards. As much as it would be nice if it was it seems there’s just not enough in the tank to make it possible. Sad, but true. That means…
1- No reversible covers.
2- No booklet of character sketches/productions notes (ala Azumanga Daioh).
3 - No collectible pins, no giant holofoil cards… heck I‘d even take a reprint of GD -18 shorts in a mini-manga format as an extra at this point, but that‘s not possible… well, almost. More on that in abit.

There is the ability to watch the opening credit animation separately from the actual episode but that‘s not very special (it‘s a tried and repeatedly used gimmick that Geneon and ADV are fond of using to name a few that use that often).

One thing Antarctic needs to do right now, not later, however is this… fix the damn menu screen! (Thankfully however it looks like this is at least something that we can wish for which might really happen!)
This is, without a doubt, the WORST example of a menu screen system I‘ve seen to date (with only Mail Order Maiden 28 from Critical Mass holding the worst menu system ever, though it is a little more polished than this). Honestly though I really don‘t know what‘s worst about this menu. It’s either the fact that it are only two choices (watch the opening and watch the episode), and two rather confusing choices (a button that looks like a “fast forward“ button and one that looks like a slow motion button) or the fact that there’s no explanation about what the two confusing choices does short of “experimenting”.

Antarctic should have stuck to the tried and true menu systems BANDAI, ADV, Geneon and so forth uses because these are used for a reason (I.e. because they work). This system? Doesn’t work. Throw it away before Gold Digger OAV Volume 3 and bring me something better than this.

And, while we’re on the topic of DVD content, let’s not forget that other than an audio commentary this DVD is WASTED! There is no extra content short of the aforementioned commentary and the stand alone opening credit animation to this. With a series as rich in history (and the fact that Fred Perry helmed and directed this whole project) there is tons of content here for a rich amount of extra content. From behind the scenes filming, to voice actor interviews, to Fred Perry interviews and a rich content of character sketches and cut scenes to voice actor bloopers. All this (or at least some of it) should have been here, but is missing.
Whether or not it is possible remains to be seen. I hope it is, that would greatly improve the release, I promise you that much!

This, however, is not the end of Gold Digger the Animation’s woes. Oh no.
- The music is a tad bit uninspired. The soundtrack does it’s job, and it fills in well enough, but it’s not the kind of selections I’d actually run out and buy a CD of said music if given the option. More time should have been spent cutting a more varied, more uplifting emotionally charged music that really set the mood above and beyond it’s satisfactory but not 100% satisfying pace. I liked it, but I wasn’t blown away by it.

- Is it me or is my copy abit… off? At a few moments the animation just seems to… well… stop for a second or two. Glitch or is it my PS2’s fault for this? I’m not sure, but I won’t hold Gold Digger responsible for it since it could just be my PS2 acting up.

- While I have yet to get ahold of Gold Digger Pocket Manga Volume 1 to compare notes I have a feeling this animation did nothing to expand on the original content. Of course I also had a feeling that Ghost Rider the Game would break the mold of bad movie to game translations and look how wrong I was about that! While I am sure it is true to the original, I have to wonder just how it innovates past the original and expands on it. I can’t say until I compare fully (and by that I mean I won’t say until I have all three volumes and do a full out complete comparison), so let’s hold off until then for a final opinion on that.
One thing I was disappointed about is that this is fixated only on Timeraft, I would have treasured more content, so having a base minimum content in three OAV (OVA) is abit of a downer to say the least.

- There is zero point zero extras. Come on, this is supposed to be a Special Edition yet you have done nothing to even convince me that there’s actually something “special” about this. No, no, no, you can’t take what little is on this and call it “special”, because I can pull five dozen DVDs from my collection and point at all of them and proclaim that they too are “special” because they have the same content. No, an audio commentary and a stand alone cut of the opening creds isn’t special.

- The voice acting is suffering a little from starting series pangs (aka the Star Trek Phenomenon).

OK. Briefly since it’s a tangent I talked about in my review of Star Trek : Shattered Universe (PS2) in the past. The best example of this is ST-TNG, where the first season everyone was incredibly stiff and their acting was so damn constricted it really was a wonder this series made it into Season 2 (though the series‘ true potential did peek through time and time again which is probably why it made it into Season 2). But once they got their grooves on, and the series lightened up, they started hitting it out of the ballpark. Hence the comparison. More often than not quite a few English dubs of Animated series is not the best it could be, but once the cast put down some serious time on a series and they really work the characters it eventually becomes good and they start to really hit it out of the park once they got their groove on. Hence the comparison between Trek and animated series (which I’ve made on several occasions in the past).

Sure, occasionally a series comes along where the cast hits that proverbial home run right off the bat (the original English voice acting cut of the OAV series of You’re Under Arrest comes to mind, which was rumored to be so good rumor has it that the Japanese creators went back to the drawing board and had their voice actors study the English dub for inspiration for the Japanese voice track for the TV Series) but this is a rarity. You rarely see a series that nails it perfectly right out of the starting gates, though it does happen. (Other examples is Cowboy Bebop, Big O, Outlaw Star and (here comes a Trek reference) Star Trek the Animated Series). Come on, the Original Series cast reprising their roles for the Animated Series (which marks this series as vital as it is the last time you hear Roger Carmel for instance reprise his role as Harry Mudd)? You can’t get better than that!

So, then, with practice comes experience and a cast that is hitting home runs (Azumanga Daioh’s English dub comes to mind as the series starts off rough but really nails it’s English dubs several episodes later when the cast is really on the ball and performing solidly), but that won’t happen here because of the long long delay between volumes (because Mr. Perry ended up being his own animator due to budget concerns… and the fact nobody wanted to hold a contest to get the best Gold Digger fans with an animation degree to help with the workload). Thing is if an OAV succeeds we would eventually like to see some serious discussion of an Ongoing Series (TV Series), which isn’t just a burden to be placed lightly on Antarctic’s shoulders but ours (as true fans) as well. If we build up a financial base for such a dream, with our purchasing power invested in merchandise geared directly towards Gold Digger the Animated Series, can we not say that eventually it may not come to pass? At this time it seems unlikely, seeing how it takes nearly forever between volumes, but if we had more merchandise to sink our investing stars upon (take a page from TOKYOPOP slash Dark Horse slash VIZ‘s book for a CineManga version, or a page from Top Cow‘s book and publish Gold Digger the Animated Manga with guest artists revisioning Gold Digger in animated styling) then more money could be invested in the future of Gold Digger the Animated OAV.

That would be a shame if we did not do our part to secure the animated future of Gold Digger, because if this series ends up becoming a singular gimmick that will not have a future past these three OAVs then we’ve just robbed ourselves of something that had the potential for greatness. I mean, really, why wouldn’t we appreciate Gold Digger the Animation spawning an ongoing series which really digs deep into the Golden Age of Gold Digger, bringing all the memorable moments of the series to life while expanding on it with new original content at the same time! Of course that means we have to step up to the bat and make it a financial reality with our purchasing power, while Fred Perry has to step down as animator and let an independent animation house (smaller but more cost effective at the same time) take over the reins of the series. He has a hard enough time with an OAV, he’d never survive the first “season” run of an Ongoing Series if he tried to animate the whole thing on his own. Too much work.

OK. Let’s just bring this to a conclusion as the finish line is coming right up.
Now look, before anyone gets ideas I am NOT down on Fred Perry’s Gold Digger the Animation, far from it. Dammit I WANT this to succeed, hence why I‘m talking about this whole thing being a two way affair! I also wanted to give this a 5 out of 5, I really really did. But for every step forward slash innovation, this one had just as many steps back slash failings that couldn’t be ignored. For everytime I wanted to praise and hug Gold Digger Timeraft OAV 2 for being just what I wanted, I had to also remind you what parts of it I wasn’t pleased with. That made it impossible to score this a perfect score because Gold Digger the Animation is not perfect, it has flaws and shortcomings which don’t take away from the beauty of the series, but don’t make it 5 out of 5 material either.

Long story short? (Yes, I know, too late) At the end of the day, when I put this back in it’s case and close it up there are some things I want to see fixed before the first copies of Gold Digger Timeraft OAV Volume 3 (and the re-release of Volume 1 & possibly 2) come out.
We can’t get it all, but at least a few things can be done.

Ways To Improve Gold Digger the Animation (abit more realistically)
1-The menu system has to be disassembled and rebuilt from the bottom up, with a few “layers” of menu system which supports an area for “Extra” content (thus making the OAV really a “Special Edition”).
(Good news, I hear this is going to be improved upon so kudos on that one.)

2-There’s a big empty space where a booklet should be in the jewel case. Fill it.
Truth be told it probably won’t be much… however… (cough cough)… you know if you put a coupon for a tie-in release I wouldn’t mind dropping the x amount of dollars needed to purchase it. You know, a GD -18 Special (not a reprint though), a GD Animated Manga Special… something. I don’t care if I have to spend money to get it, just give me the chance to spend my money. Just don’t leave this part empty because that just means wasted space on your jewel case.

3-No reversible cover (darn).

4-As I said in the first thing up above? These DVDs need extras. It doesn’t have to be too much, but any additional substantial extras that go past the base minimum “Extras” presently in the DVDs would be so welcome. (Will it happen? (shrugs) I wish it does, but just in case it doesn’t… well… it would have been nice if it happened.)

5-A punched up soundtrack with more scores that really inspire a marked emotional response when listening to said track is necessary. Sure, it’s not vital and more a vanity wish than anything else since the present track does the job, but that’s about it. It doesn’t really bring out an intense emotional response when listened to, and that is abit of a downer for me. Sure, I won’t die if there’s no change in the soundtrack because it works and it’s got a beat and you can listen to it, but I can’t escape the feeling that I should really be charged when listening to this (which isn‘t happening). I want to be hyped about the soundtrack of Gold Digger the Animation to the point I want to ask “Say, where can I find the CD copy of this music? It’s kicking!”. That would be music worth listening to (over and over again).

5a-Hmm… Gold Digger the Animated CD Soundtrack sounds nice.

The rest? Everything falls into place and does it’s job well enough. That goes without saying.
But a job well done isn’t a perfect job. I wish I could say otherwise, I wish I could say that this was indeed da’ bomb and truly without equal… you have no idea how badly I wanted it to be without flaw… but that’d be lying, and I don‘t feel good about doing that with you.

Still we have a future to consider past this point. We (as good Gold Digger fans) want to see a future past this series? We need to put our money where our hopes lie, and invest in Antarctic and this series in hopes of seeing our investment blossom in someway. Buy a copy of this OAV, get the CD-Rom, pick up some back issues that you didn’t get yet (there’s a ton of Swimsuit issues in the store for instance, and all those graphic novels). Do something to infuse life (in terms of financial “blood”) into Antarctic, and get something nice back in the process (Gold Digger stuff! Yah!)

It’s great, and fans of the series should have this (for the above reasons as well as the fact that, well, it‘s Gold Digger… nuff said), but newbies should wait for the whole series to come out in one collected set (I think you should absorb the mangas before you tinker in the animated viewing anyway).

Otherwise it is with a heavy heart that I have to be honest with you, and give Gold Digger the Animation not the score I wish it would have, but the score it earned. Gold Digger : Timeraft OAV 2 gets 3 calls to invest in the future of Gold Digger the Ongoing Series out of 5.

Gold Digger © & ™ Fred Perry

-- David Rasmussen 14th Apr 07

Gold Digger Images