Budgetary Concerns Are Nergal’s Ways
Someone please hold me.
Kidosenkan Nadeshiko BLU-RAY BOX 2010 Feb. 24. Includes TV and Movie and everything else.
I can use a life-size 12yo Ruri Hoshino right about now, Misaki-chan. And oh, there’s a DVD version of the same, but who cares about that? The BD stuff is what I was holding out on all these years! Also, 36,000 yen before tax. Stellvia is also getting a similar treatment for all those Jeff Lawsons out there.
In other news:
- I’m writing a post to follow up, but please give SDS your regards in the mean while. Moe is an interesting topic that I thought I had exhausted as far as my motivation to talk about it, but I guess not. There is something up with this topic when majority of people who belabor this point are often considered, well, trolls. But it also makes it all the more amusing. Maybe that is why it’s a hot troll topic?
- Anime News Network’s Sevakis is in Singapore to cover AFA ‘09, which is the first or second largest anime convention on my blog radar in terms of # of blogs impacted. (What is wrong with you, AX? Or maybe because I ignore LJ?) I normally don’t mention trivial things like this, but this is a good chance for you Singaporean/Malaysian/etc folks to get a taste of what a lot of us have to deal with! But also it’s good to give Justin a warm welcome, I am sure it’s a wonderful opportunity for international relations and unite-engrish-fandom and all that warm fuzzy nonsense. Wink wink nod nod.
N-list Self-Diagnostics
Mentioned here via Ani-note–basically, your favorite anime say something about you. No brainer. But it’s fun. And I’m in the mood to write some no-brainers.
As corollary, any kind of list which exercises the arbitrary selection process (eligible for copyright?) is probably saying more about the entity that makes the list than the list itself. Which is to say most top-n-entity survey lists are pretty dumb because it’s put together by a mob of people. Or it’s probably worth pointing out that your #2-5s say more about you than your #1!
I’m due to redo my top-10 lists anyways, so here’s a glimpse.
Personal favorites:
- Nadesico (Mainly just the TV show)
- Magic Knight Rayearth (Season 1 mostly)
- Excel Saga (Possibly the only Nabeshin show I truly loved)
- Millennium Actress (It formed a personal connection with me)
- Cowboy Bebop (It’s here because it’s an easy pick, and it includes the film, surely)
Even as I say this, only #1 and occasionally #3 pop into my mind from time to time. #5 comes in a lot in the context of Yoko Kanno, and while it has some mainstream appeal, it’s the only timeless context that is relevant to me on any sort of day-to-day basis. Because I would rather it look like:
- Manabi Straight
- Utena
- FLCL
- Simoun
- RahXehpon
I suspect if I didn’t watch anime in the 90s, it would have looked a lot more like that. Well, wait, I might have dropped RahXephon and FLCL because those shows work more powerfully if you have context in terms of other anime you have seen, although they are both quite potent by themselves.
There’s room for more play, for example, top 5 favorite anime films:
- Millennium Actress
- Utena the movie
- Whisper of the Heart
- Porco Rosso
- 5 Centimeters per Second
I think it’s sort of self-evident what kind of second-gen fan I am. Need more help? Favorite comedies:
- Full Metal Panic Fumoffu
- Excel Saga
- Karekano (This is more a glimpse of how I think of this show than any statement about Karekano being funny)
- Ebichu (Just had to)
- Azumana Daioh
Favorite artsy-housey tee vee (getting really specific here):
- Koi Kaze
- Haibane Renmei
- Yamamoto Yohko
- Witch Hunter Robin
- Earth Girl Arjuna
To-Heart and Hidamari Sketch would almost qualify…
And that’s a wrap. So much exhibitionist tendencies satisfied in one single post. Yea, I’m kind of not in a mood to write. It’s like I poured all my motivation into 3 tl;dr drafts talking about the same thing in three different ways, but I don’t feel comfortable posting them orz. Forgive me for boring you with a post that I normally wouldn’t do.
How Martians Think of Us. Or Is It Jovians?
It’s a common notion in science fiction that if we ever stumble upon extraterrestrials, they would possess far superior technological prowess and be able to do things humans cannot. When in reality this is probably not likely to be the case (odds are we’ll just find some bacteria first or something like that, if/when it happens), it never stopped anyone.
That is the feeling reading this article invoked in me. The analysis is sound and well-grounded, I really can’t fault it besides just, well, it’s out of touch with what’s really happening.
It feels like some guy is just taking some samples of this “anime” and analyze it as if it’s for a science class. Or literary analysis class. What have you. There’s a blatant disregard for context, and you can see it on several levels. Let’s take the Akito Tenkawa point for example–sure, the analysis is sound for how he relates to Gai, and it is spot on in terms of the mocking of childhood ideals &c. But why not take the next major step and talk about the Jovians? (I mean, why write this article when you can just watch the series? It practically says the entire thing, and much more. Considering most 2-cour TV anime takes about 2 years from planning to finishing its broadcast run, what does that say about the post-Evangelion scene? I’d say “it has been brewing for quite some time.”)
But before I get distracted by my own infatuation with Nadesico, I quote, “In[] Nadesico[] the appeal of those heroic ideals now lies in their value as nostalgia rather than as something relevant to modern society”– LOL WRONG. Actually the SCARY thing is exactly how these nostalgic but mocked values are still ever relevant, ever-fed to our children as easy answers to life’s tough questions. (Dennou Coil, I’m looking at you.) That is the whole “dark side” to Jiro Yamada and what’s really the whole point implicated by the opposing views of Gekigangar. But hey, his point about 3G or whatever is still good.
Anyways, you should read the post. (And the blog in general.) It’s a good read, and not just because it’s well-written. While the meaning of what it is a hero is stretched microns thin with it, there might be something you find worth taking home. When I said there are more than a few out-of-context points, I really mean it and I don’t think I can even pick them all out. What I have here is just the beginning. But I have faith that YOU can finish it. And that’s what it matters in this post-”G3 otaku” world. Maybe a blank of threeseven years is measured by the distance traveled by the speed of light and not by just what some scholars have to say about culture. When I was just a freshman in undergrad, one of my profs said that when it’s starting to be taught in colleges, any cultural movement can be fairly certain to be considered dead. I’m inclined to agree; and the autopsy, even a warm, lively incision as such, smells of staleness of what passed away.
The Theme of Memories is the Theme of Me
I’m not sure how many people out there recall the first few fansub renditions of episode 18 of Nadesico, but I thought that was always a touching way to translate something to get across the spirit of the language behind the title.
I’m not sure how many people out there enjoyed Kanon, either through the game, the fan stuff (radio shows and what not), or the Toei anime. I thought the new Kanon TV show is a self-fulfilling experience to re-experience your first time through Kanon, if you’re one of those people.
I’m not sure how many people out there even watched Simoun. I thought that was the saddest part about the whole thing. Who is going to stand vigil and remember the Chor Tempest?
The theme of memory is one that has real value the older you get. It doesn’t have to be mixed with regret, but it can. It certainly can be filled with “what ifs” and “now I get why.” Kanon is the story about a boy who grew up and couldn’t remember. It’s not a tropical, swashbuckling Peter Pan, but a downtempo, warm embrace. Because of that, re-watching Kanon is an enthralling experience. It’s not quite just going through the motions, but also going through your emotions when you remember your first trip with Yuuichi. It encourages you to remember. Could I remember Nayuki’s name if she asked?
What’s even more beautiful about this upcoming circumstance is that no longer we find our dusty, old remembrances dated with age. With even a critical eye we can re-examine Kanon through its new body. Thanks Kyoani! It’s really having the best of both worlds.
Memory is a favorite theme for many great pieces of anime. Hopefully I’ll be able to tell you just how that plays with Paprika tomorrow. I suppose that’s why I’m somewhat soft versus Charlie Kaufman’s films? Not to mention Satoshi Kon, but even Mamoru Oshii’s rendition in Jin-Roh and the two Ghost in the Shell films touch on this.
I’ve Fallen And I Can’t Get Up, Get Off of Me New Anime!
I’ve fallen over from watching new anime blind.
That calm, deep blue. High-pressure Autumn air clusters. North American life. A suburbian existance characterizes the later part of my childhood. And not just any suburb, but one closely attached to a big metropolitan area. I’ve done this, just not during recess.
And I can’t get up. Out from the pit that Red Garden has got me. Like a dominatrix with her hand around your balls? Innocent lamb in the jaws of Satan? No, more like escapism and someone who wants to run.
