The Kimoi Romance
In anticipation of Konami’s next big galge, I got myself a Nintendo DS. There’s the right vibe in both marketing-PR-y stuff and in the content of the game. How can you say no to dating a 2D girl voiced by Sakura Tange or Saori Hayami? I guess if you had some Akiko’s jam (I wonder if the game will refer to that…seems likely) you might think otherwise.
Playing Love Plus may be a daunting experience for me since obviously this game is very heavy on text. I am hoping the narration will ease my inability to read anything, and certainly I do not expect to experience the full spectrum that Love Plus has to offer its Japanese-literate clientele. And if this was some other company other than Konami, I might have relented and not take a deep spoonful of that mystery substance. (Is this how you evoke a mixed metaphor between Cool-Aid and Akiko’s jam?)
It all goes back when I was playing Tokimeki Memorial 3. For some really odd reason I skipped over Tokimemo 2 (and most of 1…which was just a taste), despite being the stellar one in the series. Probably because I don’t really enjoy playing it on a PC and didn’t want to jump the loops for a modded Playstation? That can’t be true…but somehow it was. At any rate, Tokimemo 3 was a lot of fun, despite my even worse non-reading skills back then. Playing it by ear, context, common sense, and trial and error actually wasn’t so bad. That might also have something to do with how Konami is serious about their dating sims.
Anyways, it bears repeating that Tokimemo 3 was a neat game. It’s fun to get to know the characters and tease out the flags and experience the special events. If you can get around the slightly-uncanny-edged, cel-shaded visuals, it’s a rewarding experience. From ZARD’s opening theme to the final unlockable characters, I found that if you can give in to the concept of enjoying a dating sim, Tokimemo 3 is solid fun.
In my head (which… may not reflect reality) Konami’s dating sims sit apart from the galge universe (including girl’s side-type games, lack of a better word) much like Studio Ghibli’s feature films in terms of all Japanese animation. They’re flagship titles, made with tender loving care, money, and a sense of pride behind them. I mean, sure, the Tokimemo line has been milked by Konami in various forms over the years with some notably weaker entries, and by default these are niche games. But there’s always a particular, a sense of quality behind them. It’s as if they are a serious matter more often than not, rather than some creative but made-on-the-cheap hit like all those visual novels or 18+ SRPG and AVG games.
Considering my last “serious” galge affair was with Sakura Taisen, it’s time for a new romance. And if the language barrier is too much for Love Plus, I can always reminiscence anew in November. It’s a good year for galge…and to reminiscence.
Beyond Entertainment and the Spiral Towards Nonsense
It is stereotypical fan behavior to fawn over one title at one moment, and then to another title on the next. I do that at times. In fact, it happens so often that over the years I thought there was a seasonal correlation to how and when it happened to me.
But there are some shows that get enthroned on my personal favorite list, a Search For Number Nine-style enthronement to something more, something closer to timelessness. At the same time, to me, that is not why I watch and think about anime, nor is it a goal, or even a side-quest, so to speak. It’s not quite like a phantom carrot at the end of a proverbial stick. Perhaps all I am saying is that I am never really looking for anime that are beyond mere entertainment even if I do take the extra time to look.
That said, even among works that aim to be something more than disposable entertainment, I don’t feel for them similarly at all. In as much as I love the Oshii classic Jin-Roh, it never really holds a candle to his copywriting-padding titles like Ghost in the Shell or Patlabor as far as keeping his fans’ fire unfazed over the years. I’m not sure if it’s out of diversity of personal preferences or lack of exposure or what. From a more classical and academic perspective, all three works have their places, if only at least biographical and to point out trends and shifts in the industry, but clearly people pick favorites.
Perhaps no other anime work, for any creator, does that biography job better than Astroboy. Tezuka is deity in manga and father to anime, but his works never caught my eye once animated. But at any rate, these are great examples of things I don’t really care about, even if from a more genealogical sense, it may well be everything. I mean, yeah, do you LOVE Astroboy? Does anyone under the age of 40?
Looking back, those timeless classics do better than those titles that are simply lost in time. For example, Spider Rider. I saw an episode of it and prompted forgot about it 3 months later. That was not all its fault–2006 was one of the best time for those of us following TV anime airing from Japan and this kids-friendly show just fell through the gaps. Despite, that is, an American localization deal and its prompt TV air time in the States, nobody cares anymore. Another of my all time favorite example is Cyber Team in Akihabara. I mean, seriously, who likes that show besides me and about few hundred other deranged souls? It might fall into a niche that those who do remember the show today do it for reasons that will persist and become a part of their psychology, ensuring a sense of permanence for the memories associated with the curious 1998 anime. Too bad the late 90s was also a golden age, of sorts.
It is perhaps equally humbling to revisit my own dismissal of Simoun when I first laid eyes on it. The motivation was that I wrote about Simoun not long ago, and the act sent me straight back into a reverie; I went back and read some of the silly things I said about the show at the time of its airing. Hopefully as a result of that, I recall and gain a sense of empathy towards those who do not attempt this wonderful title. Basically, I’ve found a way to form a desirable and still developing relationship with Simoun, despite earlier setbacks; not everyone can or want to the same.
And maybe that’s what sets two possible forms of entertainment apart. A fleeting factoid about some obscure (or not-so obscure) anime is just that. A title on my list of favorites is also a factoid, but each title has a special relationship with me, so it is difficult to forget about them. Is it entertaining to have a fulfilling time relating to a show? Sure. And it is doubly so when those shows can be entertaining even from a superficial angle: Doesn’t Izumi’s odd jokes crack you up (no, not really)? I laughed when Mei screamed at the cicada as it subsequently perished. Unlike Hayatt, Spike’s falling star could use a tip from “the Macrocosm.” But nobody changed my aesthetic more than those junai-moe visuals accompanied by Naomi Tamura’s shrieking vocals in CLAMP’s first big animated hit. It was oddly beautiful both in sound and sight. None of it required a lot of thought, either (well Izumi’s jokes kind of did), but the grey matter kept them around because of how both the shallow and the deep related to me personally.
To come around, maybe this is why Ponyo was so much fun to watch, but an oddity to think about deeply; a logic trap even. That Miyazaki guy is having a ball at his old age. And maybe Tomino is just at a more advanced stage of the thing. At least Turn-A Gundam was chock full of relatable personalities, themes and concepts, so I also tip my hat to you, good sir.
Charting Simoun’s Adult-Child Divide
So a bunch of us were just talking about the children in Simoun, and as they age and fight wars, they have to make some tough choices. This post will echoing some of my own thoughts on the matter. Here is a heads up: there will be some spoilers–not that this post would make a lot of sense without understanding Simoun anyways.
Should you brave the rest, do yourself the favor and watch it, or at least read about it.
Presumably, a mark of adulthood is choosing one’s gender–going to the Spring. The not-only-symbolic act has multiple dimensions to it, the one that struck me the most is of when and of what context each of the girls undergo the choosing. If we can say the moment a gender is selected, they reach some societal notion of adulthood, then:
1. Some people never grow up by society’s standards. That’s the easy, “Utena”/”Canvas 2″ ending.
2. People grow up through/in anticipation of romantic relationships. Several of the major characters in the show ended up paired with someone else, only to select their gender in accordance with their spouses. I believe some characters also either selected or contemplated such choice in anticipation of someone they like to get hooked up with. To some extent it is a logical choice, and follows the way how real life society prepares some (even many) adolescent kids. I guess there could be a side chapter in Simoun in which a teenager, not unlike Rodoreamon’s circumstances, is forced to choose a gender to vie for familial power and wealth through inter-clan marriage. (Perhaps it’ll involve a mermaid. Better yet, imagine the setting as applied to Gonzo’s Romeo x Juliet, in which the turning-of-age Akai Kaze decides to be a man in order to shoulder the burden of revenge! Yaoi bait indeed.)
More realistically, the average Rodoreamon would just either become a priestess as long as possible, or submit to his or her role in fate, perhaps thanks to the bonds formed through clansmanship or some sense of familial pride, almost nationalism in form.
3. Lastly, we have the impoverished, war-torn, pollution-filled third world babies who were made male days after they were born. Those who aren’t become suicide bombers?
And that’s just going to the Spring.
Another notion about the Simoun adult-child divide is actually one that challenges our understanding about ideals. For instance, what kind of adults would send an army of kids into war? I believe this was always a backdrop to the show that never was brought forward explicitly (perhaps alluded during the episodes when the Theocracy army coordinated their attacks with Chor Tempest). It makes sense when you are one of those invading countries where childhood is a luxury and those who enjoy it pay with their lives, but it doesn’t make sense when you are affluent and capable of sustaining that lifestyle.
So the question turns around–the Chor Tempest all “graduated” with something admirable left in their veins. Some started humble trades and families, others tended to war orphans and other charities. A few gave themselves to individualism and in search of personal happiness. And then some are deemed to be eternally lost, yet also as never-ending symbols of the ideas Chor Tempest fought for. Some died to save others. But what are these ideas? It is surely not land, wealth and power. But it may very well be things equally petty, like a measure of personal happiness at the expense of personal responsibilities, or even pride.
Is it some fleeting sense of beauty that blossomed under the glass house of powerless individualism?
Perhaps all of that answer to why is Neviril still in it; why she became a girl who leapt through time.
Not quite like death and taxes, but the visit to the Spring is still an inevitability. Dominura and Yun’s stories are great examples in where such details are equally potent as the main points of their stories. However what the characters make of their lives before or after the graduation don’t really matter, if they still live by those ideals. At the same time, society does not identify them by their ideals, but rather by their occupations; mere labels. Is this why Simoun’s drama unfold at first via the flourishing of status-bickering for Neviril and her elite rank?
To speak of another moment in which a child’s mind is blown, I find the Dominura/Rimone pairing particularly challenging in that this is the logically-minded, intellectual couple, forged on a relationship that is probably the purest of them all. The turning point was when Dominura opened the FOUNT OF SPIRAL ENERGYSimoun craft to investigate its supernatural powers; and as such demonstrated actually that she was the only scientifically-thinking gal in the group. Maturity through forbidden knowledge? Or is it more like the Original Sin? At any rate, along with Rimone, who follows instructions like the prophet Samuel encountering his Lord for the first time, they decided to do it and see what the hell is going on.
But will they be remembered by their single-minded search for self and truth? Probably not.
And what’s delicious is just how people react to the heterosexual/homosexual/asexual pairings in the show. It’s as if the fans of Simoun is playing right into its satirical jab on society; but that is okay. Us hardcore fans are like huge, overgrown kids, right?
Tsundere Evangelion: The Catharsis of Emotional Intelligence
This is emotional intelligence.
The notion of emotional intelligence is pretty much the foundation to understanding adolescent constructions of emotional complexes in the post-Evangelion generation of anime stories. How does it fit in? In a very broad stroke, we can summarize the setup of these stories in the following:
A (teenage) protagonist is (a) performing according to (b) societal expectations, and is then (c) challenged by some extraordinary situation or task that forces a certain level of (d) introspection.
I highlighted four elements–these four elements are also frequently the narrative focus to these stories. By this I mean the plot or the show itself spend time on elaborating these aspects of the story. It can be a part of a convenient plot device, a part of the setting, or even just something that’s amusing to show to the audience (eg., Aria the Origination ep4). Before I begin, I should also disclaim this is but one of several parallel/intersecting frameworks to discuss the concept, nor is this particular framework complete. Let’s look deeper.
(a) Performance generally refers to a notion of identity based on occupation. A guy who makes bread for a living is a baker, for example. I have a friend who gets hung up by it that he had a hard time making small talk when it comes to his family members’ vague occupations. Naturally he got happier as his family members found more traditional jobs that could be labeled with one or two words (teacher, freelance illustrator, etc). Maybe it’s particularly acute for Japanese societies, but people find comfort when they can describe people’s occupations with easily-identified labels. It’s more than just a group mentality thing at work, but a “fitting in” theme that reacts with a purity of one’s life calling, to make beautiful youth dramas in popular media. I suppose this is why we have terms like freeters or NEET nowadays. Nadesico’s Akito is one of the most obvious example where the man is really just a cook. Some other notable examples include Idolm@ster Xenoglossia and RahXehpon.
(b) Societal expectation at first seem to be a similar idea with performance and identity, but it’s dressed up in an anime story. In some ways it can be a point of mockery in that, for example, people expect the male protagonist in a shounen giant robot anime to pilot the said giant robot and fight or whatever. But do people ever realize how unrealistic such thing is? I think overall, Neo Ranga is one of the best anime out there that explores this issue. There are some other good choices such as Dai Guard or even MS Gundam: 8th MS Team. The josei genre also has a slew of stories that explore this in depth. Or maybe it’s just a Ai Yazawa thing. But I guess Moyoco Anno, too, come to think of something that relates to Evangelion (lol).
(c) Adolescence is characterized by internal change and external change. It is one thing to do it Stellvia style, where mankind bands together to fight against mass extinction. It is another to deal with the fact that you, Shinji Ikari, is the chosen one and there can be no other. The relationships you had when you were younger are no longer the same ones you have now. Society expects differently from you as well.
(d) Introspection is a common device used all across literature around the world and throughout time. I do think that healthy people do introspect every now and then, too. Does the higher frequency of introspection reflect the nature of those whose life’s work in a business driven by high level of passion and low amount of reward? Perhaps.
A half-decent dramatization of introspection in anime tends to contain one or more of the following: Dealing with terror and fear, the desire of wanting to be loved, handling negative emotions, suppression and denial of emotions, walking in loneliness, and self realization. In a more practical sense, introspection is one way to confront and control our feelings. “Running away,” as it is often said, usually (if not always?) implies a refusal to introspect. Now of course the act itself can be hidden from view in anime, as it often does. It’s just a mental process after all.
I’m sure it’s just a stereotype, but East Asians are classically horrible at teaching their kids about emotional intelligence. Of course at the same time this is a concept that most people end up learning somehow, on their own. All over the world.
The curious question becomes one that is rooted and mixed between ignorance and desires. Suppose your purpose in life at the time is to exist peacefully in a state of low emotional and physical discomfort. Circumstance, as always, adds either or both types of discomfort to no fault (perhaps) of your own. If the most logical resolution to a state of lower discomfort involves an act that increases discomfort for a short time, what would you do? More importantly, if due to ignorance or inexperience, you don’t know about this shortest path, nor do you know the path will lead to lower level of discomfort overall despite the increase in the short time, what will happen?
Perhaps it’s time to talk about the tsundere. In a nutshell, the above concepts are summarized within the personality archetype, in such a way to express a moe appeal in addition to making it simple to empathize and understand. I believe this is one reason why it is a popular and commonly used concept.
Lord of Sands of Time Fits 100,000+ Years into 198 Pages
So the story of Lord of Sands of Time, the other Haikasoru book available now, is about an army of androids fighting alien invaders with a lot of time traveling. Sounds familiar?
I think the two books are probably as different as so-called light novels can be. I’m not really sure if Lord (for short) is a light novel, but at any rate it doesn’t read like one. It reads like a dense, easy-to-read time traveling type science fiction. It is as easy reading as time traveling can be, I think.
It’s tight. It fits a lot of twists and turns, character development, good backstory to go with those characters, and a worthwhile plot for once. I think it’s tough to not find all that Lord offers enjoyable.
Which is to say if I’m going to nitpick the book, it would be from what is missing. For the sake of pacing and length, Lord does what many good anime does–creativity through recombination. You won’t find too many sentences dedicated to describe the science fictional landscaping, both what the eyes could see in an exotic world and what new science has brought upon the reader. What we’re left with are key words, familiar concepts, tropes and economy where extravagance might do better. I like this; spare me the long, wordy imagery that might or might not goad my imagination somewhere, while eating up my ever-dwindling attention span. At the same time some moments might be more epic than actually described, and it feels a bit too light and overly plot driven.
What was surprising, for me, was how much sense the way the story handles its parallel universes. It’s one of those things that is hard to do, yet doesn’t particularly lend itself to creative SF solutions. In the novel, it was achieved through…leaving it alone and later put together via its somewhat nonlinear narrative. “Resolution through plot” is probably not the best way to explain it, but works for me.
Lord also spared a lot of that cinematic framing that some might find enjoyable in All You Need Is Kill. It was mostly preoccupied in moving the scenes forward with some grand but simple description of the world, may it be ancient Japan or deep space. The description of the alien threat was rather sparse, too, leaving us mostly in the dark sans the functional aspects. Surely it is on purpose, but the reason why is unclear until after I gave it some thought after finish reading it.
Lord of Sands of Time gives us faceless invaders and generic time warps, perhaps, but these hard SF and anime visual cues made this relatively epic journey possible to be read in 3 hours. The end result is an intense trip that actually came close to feel like as if hundreds and thousands of years have gone past by the time you turned the last page. Through the way, the story retains enough thematic substance in its carefully-yet-quickly-weaved fabric to make you at least think about the big picture at the end, should we put on the brakes and take a breather at a familiar deus ex machina.
Compared to the Alastair Reynolds book I’m working on now, Lord of Sands of Time is totally “light novel” -class reading. And it is well. Don’t get hung up on the name; if you want a nice punch-out SF read and only got a few hours budgeted, this is a killer deal…if the $15 price tag doesn’t turn you off, that is.
