Aoi Bungaku, Aoi Hana, baccano!, Darker than Black, Death Note, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Gankutsuou, Genius Party, Gintama, Kaiji, Kino's Journey, Koguma no Misha, Kuchu Buranko, Kure-nai, Lucky Star, Millennium Actress,
Mind Game, Nana, Nodame Cantabile, Ouran High School Host Club, Saikano, Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei, Seirei no Moribito, Shigurui, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo, xxxHOLiC
~ My Likes and Dislikes in anime world ~
Genre and Themes I like the most: Slice of Life, Psychological, Mysterious, Historical, Supernatural, Parody, Seinen, Josei, Dark Humor and philosophical.
Genre and Themes I usually don't enjoy (There are exceptions): Mecha, Action, Magical Girl, Sports, Shounen, Harem and Ecchi.
I like the type of anime that once I'm done watching it I'd be able to remember something amazing and creative about it. Preferably I'd like the plot to have something new and mind provoking to say, regardless of the genre of the anime. I do enjoy anime with great and inovative art that suits the theme of the anime (Best example: Mononoke). I also love witty and sarcastic comedy although at times I resort to a light romantic comedy just to cool off my head before going back to working on my projects!
I absolutely hate anime that drag the story and think that their audience are dumb. (Best example: Naruto) Plot holes and directing flaws bother me a lot specially if they are repeated throughout the show (Best example: Bleach). Completely generic characters bore the hell out of me and mostly annoy me. I'm also sick and tired of shoujo anime with a weak/sick and dumb girl as their heroine. I find their lack of personality pretty offensive! Anyway those are the most annoying factors that are enough for me to drop an anime once i detect any traces of them.
~ More About Me (if you care to read) ~
I am a second third year university student.
I've been watching anime since I was a kid.
I enjoy reading and love literature but I'm not into reading manga that much.
Other than reading books and watching anime, I watch movies, ride my bike and paint on my free time (which is not much considering me being a student and a part time worker who likes to hang out with her friends a lot!)
Mmm I'm glad my scripture doesn't sound very clumsy, I'm relieved :). Actually 7-8 years ago I was very confident with it, I learnt it through the habit of reading literature. When I started university it all shifted to technical material and due to time spent on internet I was feeling my language space becoming messy. Sometimes I wonder how something I wrote got misunderstood, then I reread it and hardly understand myself.
I sat through Bungaku 6 without any attention, there isn't much to talk about it, a miss by a large margin on my behalf.
I skimmed through Antichrist again, now I can see clearer how I was mislead to believe it's misogynistic. First the facts; Trier has been going through depression before and while the time he worked on this, he is known not to believe in therapy and hate therapists. Dafoe's character is the embodiment of this. Driven by this reasoning I overread Trier to be talking through Gainsbourg, which is not the case, but I'm still clueless how to read it all.
A few lines from the subtitles :
(therapy seance)
- If human nature is evil, than that goes as well the nature of...
- Of the women?female nature?
- Nature of all the sisters. Women don't control their bodies, nature does.
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- Crying woman is a scheming woman..false in legs...false in thighs... false in breasts, teeth, hair and eyes.
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While I agree with your general statement about women in Trier movies, this time every line of dialogue has a greater significance. They travel to cabin of Eden basically being an Adam and Eve figure. Iconic scenes enhance the meaning to gender. When Dafoe has an intercouse beneath the tree with Gainsbourg, several naked bodies reeks from the roots. When she is killed and Dafoe walks through the forest it becomes a scene of gynocide and finally in the end hundreds of women climbs to for a reason that totally flew over my head :D.
To be more sound the heart of movie lies in withcraft. Gainsbourg is being implied to be possesed by nature and a skewed perspective of her study on practice of witchcraft and gynocide in her last visit to Eden. The fictional mythos of three beggars; grief, pain, despair turns her into a sadomazo witch.....aaah so much from me, I give up.
Urge me to watch Stalker again, which I'm willing to do :). I acknowledge Tarkovsky as one of the few influential directors that are fully accomplished and also in the group that are maniacal towards cinema theory and details of the craft. But of the four I watched from him two doesn't push my buttons, Solaris (probably because of the biblical proportions of the novel for me) and Andrei Rublev (no matter what anyone says it's damn boring with a few moments to savor).
The other two; the Mirror and moreso Stalker captivated me. Stalker also bests the novel it is adapted from, that is a rare case. It has been some years I have seen it, but I can see what you mean about nature in Stalker mapped to Antichrist. While skimming A.C. I noticed Trier used some twirls with the imagery to make it look unearthly (see flashback to Eden). Stalker's -The Zone- is pure genius, it's a cinematic entity on it's own, I can't figure how Tarkovsky captured this effect. I particularly recall the dreamish sequence. That's very alien and intented to be alien, zone is a constantly shapeshifting place that extraterrestrials left a mark behind. I can't recall the resolution where the trio has a confrontation well. Now it's on my mind I better fill in the gaps with a rewatch and rest of Tarkovsky's numbered filmography.
There is a music video influenced by the end of Stalker (where bounty hunter's disabled child gets psychokinetic abilities). The director Ali Demirel's live shows is my influence in stepping into AV scene.
Lol, we've been doing a lot of topic jumping. Accordeon was a lame joke. I haven't been writing in english at length for sometime, these days I noticed how it degraded and I have to tackle with every sentence trying to express myself. I just won't bother anymore and go with the flow, hope you won't mind.
Yep, watched Bungaku 5, didn't get me interested, but it's gonna last one more episode anyway. Also after I learnt about this series being animated by different teams from different shorts I figured there is no way it being on the same level all the way (three ways in two sentences). Even if the rest sucks first arc will still stand on its own, depression of war was apparent in it and an unlikely mood to expect from anime. On my first guess game I thought it will surface a monster literally, so many anime does that; -ah you have a fear, that will come out as a spirit and consume you- or better -you'll metamorphose into a monster because of your hatred-.
I didn't think about it before, many of Trier movies has female protagonists going through crooked redemptions. Since you watched it I like to discuss Antichrist, cause what has gone wrong with it kept bothering me. Upto the point of second day in the woods it really got my mind going (though the scare frames that were popping on the voyage to mountain felt cheap). The deepest sorrow possible was bound to offset the couple's relationship and mountain shelter is a smart setting for an existential play. Trier obviously had another thing in mind, terror blew apart and all the preloaded tension simply came down in blisters.
What about those excuse for explanation, she was already insane (she was dressing the kid's shoes reverse), perhaps womanhood is evil in nature deep inside, Trier are you kidding me? I watched his press conference at Cannes, he's simply evading the comments on sexism of his movie by escapism such as -art is what you make of it, I didn't make a statement-. I don't really know what to make of it, but I can't say his provocation works this time, I would be happy second half was dialogue driven picking on couple's past and individual psyche.
Other thing I'm frustrated with is the whole -chaos reigns- episode, Trier seems to hit the overlogical and overcivilized psychologist with the cruelty of nature (binding it with paganic evilness of the woman?). It's represented a bit out of context, nature is primitive and...natural, can't be judged by sense of justice and righteousness.
I like to hear your thoughts on Tarkovsky references, my grasp of his cinema is not well, I can only notice the visual similarities, no direct correlation. B/W photography at the beginning is one.
Best thing in the movie is Charlotte Gainsbourg, I felt she was %100 percent into her role, another Trierized victim :). Unlucky that her script doesn't deserve the dedication.
A bit late, but back. My introduction to Bjork was back in the day Yoga's music video, swept me of my feet, state of emergency is where I want to be...Can't say I'm a fan of her, but she has her place. Years later video directors she worked with became some of my favorites as they launched career on film. I saw how energetic she's on stage on tv, never got a chance for a live show, would like to be on that stage though :). I guess Trier drained her while shooting Dancer, he is widely known to suffocate performances out of actors (couldn't find a better term for what he does, other option was rape).
When I first began to get serious with cinema Trier had a pivotal role in my perception. I think Idiots was the first I saw from him, it left me blankminded for days. From there I traced the precursors and realized there were many along the same line on every decade. Other thing he's universally known for is rapture on audiences' senses. I like both his pre Dogme95 era and later stuff. I was very surprised seeing his early films as masterful conventional cinema (Europa is still one of a kind), since he has chosen to revert to basics using far simpler methods to bring forth storytelling element.
I don't think he has a clear signature as a cinematographer though, methodology varies almost in all his films which is refreshing. What I missed from his filmography is easier to list; Boss of it All, Manderlay, Dear Wendy. Saw his latest Antichrist recently, I'm dissapointed that he reverted to provocation and symbolism on the extreme with little to reap. For the first time I see myself questioning his methods.
To midi controllers... Yea Monome seems easy to make, especially to you mischevious engineer :P. It's expensive, because each piece is hand made and longlasting. Important thing is while every device get more and more specialized, this one just give you 8*8 triggers, it can fit in every kind of setup with differing purposes, many of'em can work together. Seeing it could you have imagined a Monome embedded guitar? If you are not convinced here comes the king of controllers : midi accordion! Has more buttons than one can ask for :D.
I'm gonna return with a longer reply. Right now wanted to ask which release are you following for Aoi Bungaku? I can't find a decent release past ep.2.
Oh, damn, pumpkin blew all over us. we were at the place excited for the gig and then a vga adapter malfunction and a chain of excuses from the organization. I think we are done with ThePub, time to get a deal with BoomBox :). A stage frequenter friend of mine have warned me about places; "expect anything from no payment to sell outs if no paperwork is involved", I now see how right he was. At least %70 of the material I got ready is salvageable for a general show. The rest will wait for a fright night or next halloween.
Launchpad got it's debut...yesterday! Gotta save 400 greenies for it :). Monome is a very flexible device and it's all handcrafted with a wooden board, reminiscent of good old times. I watched a video of Reactable on a Bjork show after you told me about it, the performer got really quick using it, better to be on the check out, grand for a big stage if we ever hit that.
By the way, I'm tuning on Trapeze, the 3rd episode is better for me than the last 2, I think it's slowly getting there. A usual writer's block and drawing inspiration from real experience theme contrasted well with the extravaganza of the show.
Forgive me for a rather grim look on Burton. Edward Scissorhands was one of the first movies I watched at the theater, I watched Beetlejuice countless times on tv, Nightmare B.C. is still one of the best movies that gazes from the other side. He made me shudder in excitement so many times, I still feel sympathy for him. For me Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd was genuine attempts to capture that essence, I wholeheartedly believe that.
Burton is as commercial as he ever was, not more, not less, he's simply trying to bring his gothic inspirations to audiences unleashed. Merely the fact that he chose Alice makes it obvious he's seeking shelter in the roots. Let's see how the parade turns out.
Nope I'm not the Dj and I'm not the Vj (to the left), I'm the eye and the mastermind there mwahahaha. So far our financial resources got depleted on two Macbook Pro's you saw there. There is at least half a year to complete the whole setup. Endgame is turning this into a total live show with music written live electronically by two performers as well. By then I gotta deal with my shyness and step into the visual seat.
Thanks for your enthusiasm, it's really appreciated considering most of the people there weren't even aware that the visuals were being performed :D. We have to get some contacts from İstanbul, that's where the whole scene is in Turkey (like any other bussiness area). Getting recognition there is primary to step abroad. Larger projection surface, better projector, eventually giant lcd screen is our dream, but that's not gonna happen at ThePub.
Reactable and such fancy new technologies are interesting, there are some years till they enter the end user market. I wonder what will happen when reactable gets customized for visual control, gotta lay my hands on one of these things. On the stage practicallity comes first, so customizable surfaces such as the modest looking monome and launchpad are the primary target :).
I'm looking forward to Doc. Parnassus, but don't let myself get excited about Alice. Burton has been dissapointing me way too long with his mediocre output from the late nineties till now. I know Alice is just his forte to boot with, I'll be happy to hug him back if he can deal with this in more than a fashion sense.
Ah right, Aoi is an adaptation and consisted of arcs, should have done my research before guess game :).
Buranko's 2nd ep. is more comprehensible and gets it's intentions clearer, they are not after realistic cases or drama. Show is prolly gonna progress on fantasies of dysfunctional individuals. Slapstick and door popper professor is still getting on my nerves rather than making me smile.
Normally other than programmable computer pieces we only use abstract minimal visuals from some shorts like Norman McLaren's. This time I go for scare&shock value, filmic material is too long to list, I went through early horror movies like Nosferatu to lots of B-movies and some of my favorites from Burton,Jeunet and Gilliam to lighten the mood. For anime Open Your Mind (Oshii's own AV), Karas, Gurren Lagaan's cheesy sequences, Genius Party+Beyond, Diebuster, a few crazy moments of NHK, Paprika, Mind Game made it's way in.
Well I grew up in a muslim culture, what's there for me to celebrate in Halloween? I think Halloween got imported to the metropolitan youth culture in the last decade here. It's just another excuse for people to get dressed up and party. A good chance for us showcase the stuff without worries, tis gonna be crowded anyway :). Since this one will be commercial with us doing the visuals and other djs, I don't think we are gonna cut an excerpt from footage. Two weeks ago was our debut, e-flyer and an excerpt is here.
Bokurano ended on a low note, the kind that deems -story is done, don't expect further resolution or information- so I may have to reevaluate that reccomendation :). But what I already told holds true, it's basically a series that's concerned with characters and mini stories than -uuu look at my mecha, how cool is that-.
Aoi Bungaku rocks! What a detailed series with cinematic storytelling, stroke me when I least expected. I hope it doesn't fail to deliver in the later episodes. We are given an interesting character study, I expect it to stay -inside- that character instead of -here's your monster, now let's see who'll gonna defeat it-.
Halloween is about to come, it'll be the first time I'll ever celebrate it...not by choice. We have an audio visual performance on a party, I edited clips from lots of horrorish movies including some anime. I was planning to cut some Mononoke for it, but noticed it won't work well with the gory material. It's time will come :).
Yea of course there are no set of rules one has to follow, it's normal for an engineer get interested in art. All my engineer friends do so. What I wanted to emphasize is the aspects of that interest. People tend to behave beneficially, they draw from what is easily avaliable and when they do, they do so primarily for entertainment value without having that much of an interest in the specifics. That's why the market (anime or otherwise) output clutter around some demographics. So save me the surprise element :P.
My scattered interest on everything prevented me from becoming a scientist while all my collagues flew abroad (tensor algebra was the point I yelled enough is enough). After various jobs I'm still not settled for life, at least I'm happy with being a nutcase and things are coming together at last.
I only watched an episode of F.L.A.G. yet and put it aside as a sure bet. I know what is there deriving from Gasaraki experience. I believe for these kind of works story doesn't revolve around characters, it is primarily the setting and progression of it as a whole. Since I commisioned for the job of watching Lotgh I'll wait for other similar shows that means serious biz till it's done. I'm not sure if you or anyone will enjoy FLAG & Gasaraki, these things float around the hard scifi line, still it's better to reccomend them instead of the obvious stuff.
When did Cowboy Bebop become old? OMG that means I grew old :D. I always considered it's production values as timeless, I don't think it'll fail to impress someone of the visual arts department. By the way you are pure evil with the grin and all.
I grew up watching Macross, so I never had problem purely with the existence of mechas, but I grew tired with the usuals the genre as well, so I'm looking for variations of it. Bokurano is using a twisted NGE template with the set of children cast inside a gargantuan (this time extremely big and bulky) robot and earth saving. Like I said it gives almost no importance to create adrenaline so even the mecha battles are dramatization of what precedes and follows. It isn't a show extremely pulping at the viever with tragedy, fit of rages and more concerned with it's mini stories. So it may remedy your hatred for mecha.
I wasn't aware you are studying to be an engineer, I assumed you are of social sciences or art deriving from your interests. It's nice to see someone outside of stereotypical engineer mold. Your real cure about mechas is Gasaraki, it's the only show that deals with realistic probability of armor suits appearing in near future. It takes part in an imaginary middle eastern setting (right before 2nd gulf war,eerie) introducing bipedal combat machines.
Very heavy on politics and details of engineering, I'm amazed how unknown and underappreciated it stayed. This director went on to direct F.L.A.G. if you heard it, a similar show that appealed to little audience because of its similar nature and documentary style.
Thanks for the birthday message and the C.C. picture as well.
Naw, I don't mind the examples at all. However I don't use real life movies as examples when discussing topics in anime. The problem I have when using that method is I have to look back at topics such as characters that I felt brought a great significance (within anime or manga) and then realize that their significance may not be as strong as it once was.
If real-life movies (or other non-anime material) were part in an anime discussion and it effects a vote (based on judging anime, manga, and characters) then we have to open the floodgates and let other non-anime related mediums effect an anime discussion. An example (possibly not the best one though) is to test the worthiness of Legend of the Galactic Heroes to other sci-fi series like Star Trek, Star Wars, or Battlestar Galactica. Bringing up the example of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is something to think about though.
Lol infesting virgin minds with anime. What was your choice for first injection? Depending on the person I vary, but Cowboy Bebop always worked.
Mononoke was mostly a shrink with a sword show, so it's expected for Buranko to bring forth heavy cannon psychology. Was it really necessary to adopt Japanese tv aesthetics like the interference of paper cut psychiatrist that pops up from a door occasionally?
I am perfectly fine with the choice of classical music for Lotgh, I can't come up with a more befitting choice. Though I am not an expert or heavy listener of classical, some ends up on my playlist, I particularly like the late romantics such as Rachmaninov.
They use it well for battle scenes rising to a crescendo. There were also many moments that I would prefer silence in the natural flow of the show that classical music does nothing more than emphasizing something grand in scale is going on. I'm not sure if the piece played is in accord with the scene all the time.
Talk about defective democracies, second season has a step by step portrayal of what can go wrong. I was planning to watch Lotgh in one go, but right now I decided to stop for easy digestion :). First done with Darker than Black which turned out to be better than my expectation despite the numerous cliches. Right now I'm enjoying Bokurano; a not so well known mecha show which goes light on the action and focuses on the drama, it's refreshing. I'll be checking Aoi.
There was something called midterms back in the day, right? And then there were finals OMG :D. I'm glad those aren't a part of my life anymore (or better definition would be -my life isn't revolving around them-) I don't know if you did it deliberately, but sending out your stock on external is a smart move to concentrate on exams.
I'm hanging on Kuchu, if it wasn't for Mononoke I'd have low expectations after such an initial episode. I guess Mononoke was way more traditional despite the unexpected but perfectly absorbed artstyle, I was sure what to expect from the first few minutes.
I love psychedelia, add to that Kuchu is filled with pop art and some gayness I have yet to comprehend. And it plays more like Zetsubou bombarding the viewer with images and styles without a payoff yet. But then I was skeptic to Mind Game for the first half hour which then I loved deeply. Let's wait what the content adds upto.
Lotgh is fantastic, I would have watched it a decade ago. It's so rare to see any show play on this scale zooming back and forth different elements of the setting. I now know why people are telling to hang for 20+ episodes. First season has some sharp corners, especially in the powermonger viliain department.
They are trimmed by the second season and it becomes a bizarre labyrinth of different motivations. I love how it let's the viewer into situational readings of the characters. This show is not a poseur laying partial information to viewer assuming that they'll be amazed when the revelation comes, everything is out in the open.
In the end my minor irritations are related with general space opera scheme. While Lotgh runs heavy on social sciences department, it lacks on physics. My physics graduate side is constantly bothered by this, in order to enjoy what's going on I try to revert to 2-D chess thinking as the show mandates. Then there's the problem with classical music. Lotgh is designed as an all-out climax so there's classical music playing almost nonstop. Most of the time it is tiresome and seems arbitrary than fitting the particular scene.
Even at my age it's exciting to see democracy contrasted with autocracy, to be honest I thought I was settled on these matters, it makes me reevaluate my outlook on society. I missed this feeling :).
