Anime: Glass no Kamen 706416

Other than having the most innovative use of bamboo sticks I've ever witnessed, The Glass Mask is a classic shoujo in the like of others of its kind, particularly Brother, Dear Brother. It's melodramatic and doesn't apologize for it one iota. Fortunately, it's melodramatic in all the right places: the fun of the series is guessing what outrageous thing Maya would do for her acting. To be able to fully enjoy Glass Mask, love of the genre is a must. If, like myself, you like the morbid, fanciful type of shoujo, then this is pretty much a must-watch.

Animation
The Glass Mask is over twenty years old so to expect excellent animation is kind of silly. I noticed that animation wise the anime is less theatrical than its predecessors. There are very little sparklies, but expect those bright eyes so apparent in 70s and 80s shoujo.

Sound
The opening theme is a decidedly 80s song. In fact, it sounds like something from Flashdance. In the video, Maya dances in a leotard. That doesn't help matters, either. The ending theme is fairly forgettable. The voice acting gets the job done with the best voice being Tsukikage's. She has a harsh voice, kind of like the grandmother's in Full Moon wo Sagashite.

Story
The Glass Mask has three stories, one is thankfully non-existent. (I'll get to that later.) One being Maya and Tsukikage's relationship; the best part of the series is seeing what they'll do for the sake of acting. I gotta hell of a kick out of that. Watch what Maya does when she's preparing for a certain role near the end.

The second is the relationship between Maya and Ayumi. Maya is, of course, the underdog while Ayumi is the beautiful, talented actress with all the connections. Because Ayumi turns out to be a good character, this rivalry between the two was well-done. In fact, Ayumi once stepped in when she knew Maya was being sabotaged (this made for an excellent scene, by the way.) Speaking of sabotage, I thought that was repetitive. Maya gets hoodwinked often in this series and it got kind of old. Every time she would start to make a name for herself, there was a jealous someone to get in the way. I know this is a dog-eat-dog world, but give a person a break, would ya? But then there's the third story.

I said earlier that this anime is melodramatic in all the right places. This is because the movie Akira has more romance than this shoujo. This is a good thing because any love story this series had to offer would have been terribly unconvincing. You see, Maya is thirteen at the start of the series and her primary love interest is twice her age. Yeah, I know the Japanese have these Lolita complexes, but come on! Thank gawd it wasn't expounded upon. Last but not least, this anime is twenty-three episodes, but it's really twenty-two. The last episode was a recap (summary of the series) that you can completely ignore. Other than that, the ending was a suitable one... although it ends right when it was getting good.

Character
Viewers learn very early on that Maya (the protagonist) would do anything for acting. In the first episode, she jumps in a river to retrieve a ticket to a play. Right then and there, I knew she was either unusually determined or had more than a few screws loose. It turns out to be both. Maya uses rather...ah...odd techniques to become her character, to breathe the characters she plays on stage. Most of the time, these "techniques" are nothing more than self-inflicted physical and mental pain. As great as this is to watch, this is the extent of her character. In fact, Maya is a bit of a dotard. I mean, as the viewer, the identity of Mr. Purple Rose was all but obvious. And she couldn't figure it out? Yeesh.

Anyways, Maya's not an interesting lead, and the ing cast doesn't balance this out. Of the secondary characters, Tsukikage is probably the most fun to watch. She's Maya's mentor and is training her for the role of a lifetime, the "crimson goddess." Her best moments are when she's all but abusing Maya (all in the sake to become a better actress, of course). Her determination to keep the rights of the play is also something else, but other than that, she's not really interesting either. She shines brightest only when she's paired with Maya..and Maya herself is the same.

Then there's Ayumi's, Maya's rival. I said earlier that Tsukikage was the best character, well, I changed my mind. The best is probably Ayumi. Thankfully, Ayumi isn't your typical nasty character that always schemes to get the best of her rival. On the contrary, it's clear very early on that Ayumi respects Maya and is fully aware of her abilities. When Maya constantly bests her, she wonders what Maya has that she doesn't. She has an epiphany (she figures it out!); hence, in the end, she learns from her. To compare, their rivalry is very much like Hikaru and Toya's in Hikaru no Go.

Last but not least, there's Masumi, the "cold and heartless" president of Metropolis Entertainment. I didn't like his character...at all. He was a bit of a stereotype to me. He did have one great scene, but other than that, I rolled my eyes every time he appeared on the screen. All in all, the characters are surprisingly shallow for an anime of this caliber.

Value
I enjoyed this, though it may have been a tad disappointing. If you liked this, then I highly recommend Brother, Dear Brother. It's the much better show and with stronger characters.