Test the Untestable

Peace Out , homeslice
If memory serves correctly, when the plan arose they made up to Ep6 (despite Anno apparently saying in Quick Japan magazine that they had "made up to Ep7 in advance") and sent out feelers in all directions, but were given the cold shoulder by every company. (laugh) Even Bandai snubbed them based on the past results of the huge failure of "Wings of Honneamise (Royal Space Force)". (laugh) They had connections with a TV Tokyo producer, but if you can't get sponsors it doesn't matter. So after wandering lost by the wayside for a bit, Kadokawa Shoten finally picked them up. But the truth is that even Kadokawa just barely picked them up, and flatly rejected their budget requests, saying that they only intended to budget the same level and not a yen more than other anime Kadokawa had sponsored in the past (Tenchi Muyo, etc.). This is a long-standing custom in the anime industry, and even now there are no sponsors that will increase the budget or take other measures even if that anime becomes a huge hit. In the first place, when making an anime you not only have to raise funds, but you also have to make preparations such as acquiring personnel from subcontracting anime studios at least 6 months to a year or more in advance, so it is difficult to quickly increase the number of staff even if you want to. Most subcontracting companies are involved with multiple anime and have packed schedules. About the best you can do on short notice is to get subcontracted South Korean staff. Indirectly, these circumstances would later become a noose tightening around Anno and Gainax's necks.

Why God, why?

I'll be the first to admit that I was a fan of Rush Hours 1 and 2. They were funny, sure - the idea of a sassy black man, and an exceptionally well-trained Chinese martial artist working together to bust on international crime syndicates was novel enough, and had just enough realism to spawn 2 movies that left me smiling at the endof each.

To contrast, I sat in my seat at the end of Rush Hour 3 with my face contorted into a rictus of horror.

The whole thing starts off well enough: inexplicably demoted from his position as Detective, Officer James Carter directs traffic while dancing, using Michael Jackson-esque squeals and thrusts to deftly (and predictably) cause a bunch of cars to crash into each other. Nice work. Meanwhile, Inspector Lee accompanies his trusted friend Ambassador Han to a meeting of the World Criminal Court, where he is promptly shot by a Japanese guy Lee chases while Carter causes more accidents by commandeering a Mercedes Benz. Eventually, they catch up with each other, go to Paris, and whatever the fuck finish the damn movie.

My big problem with the movie is that the writers seemed to place more importance on sometimes-funny one liners, sight gags, and over-the-top action than on properly finishing the story. As I mentioned, Han is shot and nearly killed at within the first few minutes of the movie, and we never see him again. His daughter, who ostensibly remained in Los Angeles (or not, we don't know) somehow winds up in Paris, hanging from her wrists from the Eiffel Tower. Jackie Chan's Japanese "brother", who spends most of the entire movie antagonizing our plucky pair of crimefighters gets all of three lines of backstory. Screen legend Max von Sydow plays a character who despite presiding over the World Criminal Court risks it all to gain a list of Triad leader names for no discernable reason. Any one of these errors would be bad enough, but the very fact that everyone one of these showstopping oversights exists on one reel of celluloid is clear indication that the people behind Rush Hour 3 wanted to milk the franchise one last time by cobbling together a terrible mishmash (I refuse to use the word "film") of obscenely unbelievable storytelling and poor time management.