May 6th, 2013
aku no hana ep1
Anime Relations: Aku no Hana
apparently this anime is very controversial. i did a little research for why it was rated so low after i picked it out of the new lineup solely based on the art, and none of the hatred towards it seems to have anything to do with the story, or how well the anime represents the intent of the mangaka. the mangaka, btw, is wholeheartedly onboard with this representation.
people appear to hate it for two reasons: the art is allegedly not faithful to the manga, and the art is supposedly "ugly". i can't speak to the first because i have not seen the manga (though i will). and i am not about to argue with fans who feel their expectations have been betrayed. but the latter? aesthetics are to a large degree in the eye of the beholder, but "ugly" is probably used by people who enjoy moe so much that it blinds them to the merits of other art styles, or by people who don't understand the uncanny valley effect.
me, i love the art here. it is done by rotoscoping; manually tracing over live footage to create a drawn image. this makes all movement more natural. i can't tell you how much i enjoy seeing characters walk and physically interact and not look stiff and cartoony while doing it. human walk is notoriously difficult to animate, and IMO most animation fails on that count. a main issue that arises with rotoscoping stems from how much the artist decided to keep from the live footage, and here what's kept is very spare; only a few lines. when characters are not close to the camera, their faces becomes blank, and as they come closer, we get progressively more lines. for many people this creates an "uncanny valley" effect, which means something that we expect to look and act human instead looks slightly "off", and it becomes repulsive, or at least profoundly unsettling. it's a fascinating psychological phenomenon.
i believe this is done completely on purpose here, in support of the story, to unsettle us visually. it works perfectly; after watching only one episode i basically know nothing of the upcoming story, but i fully expect it's gonna be very creepy. i can't look away from these characters. the background art is very detailed, seedy, run-down, decrepit; it too supports my expectation of major creepiness. sound does so as well; the ED also stands out as very unusual.
it's rare that an anime grabs me this instantly, especially if it is slow to reveal its story. i just love it when artists take risks, when they break out of the comfortable boundaries of what we're used to. i feel this could become a masterpiece if the story lives up to the artistic choices made.
people appear to hate it for two reasons: the art is allegedly not faithful to the manga, and the art is supposedly "ugly". i can't speak to the first because i have not seen the manga (though i will). and i am not about to argue with fans who feel their expectations have been betrayed. but the latter? aesthetics are to a large degree in the eye of the beholder, but "ugly" is probably used by people who enjoy moe so much that it blinds them to the merits of other art styles, or by people who don't understand the uncanny valley effect.
me, i love the art here. it is done by rotoscoping; manually tracing over live footage to create a drawn image. this makes all movement more natural. i can't tell you how much i enjoy seeing characters walk and physically interact and not look stiff and cartoony while doing it. human walk is notoriously difficult to animate, and IMO most animation fails on that count. a main issue that arises with rotoscoping stems from how much the artist decided to keep from the live footage, and here what's kept is very spare; only a few lines. when characters are not close to the camera, their faces becomes blank, and as they come closer, we get progressively more lines. for many people this creates an "uncanny valley" effect, which means something that we expect to look and act human instead looks slightly "off", and it becomes repulsive, or at least profoundly unsettling. it's a fascinating psychological phenomenon.
i believe this is done completely on purpose here, in support of the story, to unsettle us visually. it works perfectly; after watching only one episode i basically know nothing of the upcoming story, but i fully expect it's gonna be very creepy. i can't look away from these characters. the background art is very detailed, seedy, run-down, decrepit; it too supports my expectation of major creepiness. sound does so as well; the ED also stands out as very unusual.
it's rare that an anime grabs me this instantly, especially if it is slow to reveal its story. i just love it when artists take risks, when they break out of the comfortable boundaries of what we're used to. i feel this could become a masterpiece if the story lives up to the artistic choices made.
Posted by pleochroic | May 6, 2013 6:35 PM | 0 comments
January 4th, 2009
anime winter 2008
Anime Relations: Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th, RideBack, Maria†Holic, Hetalia Axis Powers, Tetsuwan Birdy Decode:02, Genji Monogatari Sennenki, Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou, Kemono no Souja Erin
new series i am planning to watch:
zoku natsume yuujinchou (続 夏目友人帳) -- sequel to natsume yuujinchou (夏目友人帳), which i am currently watching. Natsume Takashi has the ability to see spirits, which he has long kept secret. However, once he inherits a strange book that belonged to his deceased grandmother, Reiko, he discovers the reason why spirits surround him. Containing the names of these spirits, a binding contract was formed between the spirits and the owner of the book. Now, Natsume is determined to free the spirits and dissolve the contracts. With the help of a spirit cat, his days are filled trying to return the names to these spirits. [ANN] inoue kazuhiko voices the cat, and does an awesome job (the cat has two distinct voices for its two forms).
tetsuwan birdy DECODE: 02 -- sequel to tetsuwan birdy DECODE (鉄腕バーディーDECODE) and alternate retelling tetsuwan birdy OVA (鉄腕バーディー), which i've watched. Federation investigator Birdy chases the space criminal Geega through space to Earth, where he hides in the entertainment industry under a human disguise. Birdy goes undercover herself, posing as famous model “Arita Shion” that often uses a ‘space girl’ look. A male student, Senkawa, stumbles upon a fight between the two one night in an abandoned building only to be severed in half as he is used as a shield by Geega against Birdy. Birdy heals him from imminent death in some fashion- but Senkawas body, and life, are now changed and permanently linked to Birdy. [ANN]
maria-sama ga miteru 4th season (マリア様がみてる 4ｔｈシーズン), which i'll probably tape for the paramour, being as it's yuri. the "lillian school for girls" is an exclusive all girl's catholic school. the school has a tradition that older girls take a younger girl as their little sister or "soeur" in order to instruct and look out for them. uh huh.
kemono no souja erin (獣の奏者エリン) -- written by uehashi nahoko, the creator of seirei no moribito, which is one of my favourite anime, and that's enough reason to watch this. :) erin is a young woman who is drawn into a war between kingdoms. she has the ability to command animals by playing a musical instrument.
ride back (ライドバック) -- the story of a girl and her "iron horse" robot motorcycle in 2020, a tumultous time of anti-government student protests. this might be good; i like the art. then again, it might suck because it's mecha. we'll see. among the cast: paku romi, miki shinichiro, morikawa toshiyuki.
genji monogatari sennenki genji (源氏物語千年紀 genji) -- oh yeah. interpretation of the original novel. takahiro sakurai as genji. totally must see.
maria+holic (まりあ†ほりっく) -- The story centers on a sophomore named Kanako who enrolls in an all-girls school because she has a phobia of men and wants to find her destined yuri partner. She meets a captivating freshman named Mariya who fits her criteria — except her seemingly ideal mate happens to be a cross-dressing sadistic boy. [ANN] i wouldn't normally expect to care since this is yuri, but i saw the first streamed episode, kobayashi yu is delightful as maria, and the whole thing was very funny. it might become my comic relief anime, and the paramour might like it, depending on how much actual yuri there is beyond kanako's nosebleeding adoration.
hetalia axis powers (ヘタリア axis powers) -- very short gag anime, set in europe between WW1 and WW2, using caricatures of the different nationalities as portrayed by a gaggle of bishounen boys. this could either fall flat because of being terribly offensive, or be hilariously offensive. i'm not holding my breath, but i'll give it a try. paku romi, namikawa daisuke, konishi katsuyuki.
also, xxxholic has an OVA coming, but i don't know when.
zoku natsume yuujinchou (続 夏目友人帳) -- sequel to natsume yuujinchou (夏目友人帳), which i am currently watching. Natsume Takashi has the ability to see spirits, which he has long kept secret. However, once he inherits a strange book that belonged to his deceased grandmother, Reiko, he discovers the reason why spirits surround him. Containing the names of these spirits, a binding contract was formed between the spirits and the owner of the book. Now, Natsume is determined to free the spirits and dissolve the contracts. With the help of a spirit cat, his days are filled trying to return the names to these spirits. [ANN] inoue kazuhiko voices the cat, and does an awesome job (the cat has two distinct voices for its two forms).
tetsuwan birdy DECODE: 02 -- sequel to tetsuwan birdy DECODE (鉄腕バーディーDECODE) and alternate retelling tetsuwan birdy OVA (鉄腕バーディー), which i've watched. Federation investigator Birdy chases the space criminal Geega through space to Earth, where he hides in the entertainment industry under a human disguise. Birdy goes undercover herself, posing as famous model “Arita Shion” that often uses a ‘space girl’ look. A male student, Senkawa, stumbles upon a fight between the two one night in an abandoned building only to be severed in half as he is used as a shield by Geega against Birdy. Birdy heals him from imminent death in some fashion- but Senkawas body, and life, are now changed and permanently linked to Birdy. [ANN]
maria-sama ga miteru 4th season (マリア様がみてる 4ｔｈシーズン), which i'll probably tape for the paramour, being as it's yuri. the "lillian school for girls" is an exclusive all girl's catholic school. the school has a tradition that older girls take a younger girl as their little sister or "soeur" in order to instruct and look out for them. uh huh.
kemono no souja erin (獣の奏者エリン) -- written by uehashi nahoko, the creator of seirei no moribito, which is one of my favourite anime, and that's enough reason to watch this. :) erin is a young woman who is drawn into a war between kingdoms. she has the ability to command animals by playing a musical instrument.
ride back (ライドバック) -- the story of a girl and her "iron horse" robot motorcycle in 2020, a tumultous time of anti-government student protests. this might be good; i like the art. then again, it might suck because it's mecha. we'll see. among the cast: paku romi, miki shinichiro, morikawa toshiyuki.
genji monogatari sennenki genji (源氏物語千年紀 genji) -- oh yeah. interpretation of the original novel. takahiro sakurai as genji. totally must see.
maria+holic (まりあ†ほりっく) -- The story centers on a sophomore named Kanako who enrolls in an all-girls school because she has a phobia of men and wants to find her destined yuri partner. She meets a captivating freshman named Mariya who fits her criteria — except her seemingly ideal mate happens to be a cross-dressing sadistic boy. [ANN] i wouldn't normally expect to care since this is yuri, but i saw the first streamed episode, kobayashi yu is delightful as maria, and the whole thing was very funny. it might become my comic relief anime, and the paramour might like it, depending on how much actual yuri there is beyond kanako's nosebleeding adoration.
hetalia axis powers (ヘタリア axis powers) -- very short gag anime, set in europe between WW1 and WW2, using caricatures of the different nationalities as portrayed by a gaggle of bishounen boys. this could either fall flat because of being terribly offensive, or be hilariously offensive. i'm not holding my breath, but i'll give it a try. paku romi, namikawa daisuke, konishi katsuyuki.
also, xxxholic has an OVA coming, but i don't know when.
Posted by pleochroic | Jan 4, 2009 7:43 PM | 0 comments
January 1st, 2009
okane ga nai
Anime Relations: Okane ga Nai
this is the story of gentle, kind-hearted college student ayase, who is auctioned off on the underground sex slave market in order to pay the debt of his unscrupulous cousin. the highest bidder is kanou, a loan shark with a nasty temper who is utterly smitten with ayase.
and to show his abiding love in good ole yaoi manner, kanou takes ayase home and rapes him. because nothing says loving like forcing somebody who's already scared out of his mind to have sex. then we have hijinks of misunderstandings and ayase being abducted, and kanou coming to his rescue, and trying (unsuccessfully) to not scare him the rest of the time. and since it's yaoi, ayase naturally comes to love his rapist over time, because how can you possibly resist a man who loves you so much that he can't control yourself? i swear, when watching this sort of dreck, and knowing how many fans adore it, i think japan is stuck in the 50s.
i haven't kept up with the manga, because i abhor girly, crying uke who are more yasashii (gentle, caring, sacrificing, submissive) than the average anime girl. i realize what the concept of yasashii is trying to get at, and i can even occasionally buy it (such as in the novel answer by sakiya haruhi). but here ayase is just too much of a doormat for me.
the art is really bad in the OVA, no comparison to the manga, the animation is lazy, and the sex (what there is to see) is not erotic. on the other hand, the voice talent is superb, and fukuyama jun is perfect for ayase because he does squealy uke so well (which is why i don't buy drama CDs with fukujun in a leading role; he's a great actor, but i can't stand his voice when he does sex). kosugi juurota does kanou, and does him very well. supporting are okiayu ryoutarou as well as hatano wataru, and tobita nobuo has my favourite role, that of the tranny. this anime needs more tranny.
buy the drama CDs instead, they're much better (ishida akira plays ayase).
and to show his abiding love in good ole yaoi manner, kanou takes ayase home and rapes him. because nothing says loving like forcing somebody who's already scared out of his mind to have sex. then we have hijinks of misunderstandings and ayase being abducted, and kanou coming to his rescue, and trying (unsuccessfully) to not scare him the rest of the time. and since it's yaoi, ayase naturally comes to love his rapist over time, because how can you possibly resist a man who loves you so much that he can't control yourself? i swear, when watching this sort of dreck, and knowing how many fans adore it, i think japan is stuck in the 50s.
i haven't kept up with the manga, because i abhor girly, crying uke who are more yasashii (gentle, caring, sacrificing, submissive) than the average anime girl. i realize what the concept of yasashii is trying to get at, and i can even occasionally buy it (such as in the novel answer by sakiya haruhi). but here ayase is just too much of a doormat for me.
the art is really bad in the OVA, no comparison to the manga, the animation is lazy, and the sex (what there is to see) is not erotic. on the other hand, the voice talent is superb, and fukuyama jun is perfect for ayase because he does squealy uke so well (which is why i don't buy drama CDs with fukujun in a leading role; he's a great actor, but i can't stand his voice when he does sex). kosugi juurota does kanou, and does him very well. supporting are okiayu ryoutarou as well as hatano wataru, and tobita nobuo has my favourite role, that of the tranny. this anime needs more tranny.
buy the drama CDs instead, they're much better (ishida akira plays ayase).
Posted by pleochroic | Jan 1, 2009 7:06 PM | 0 comments
December 28th, 2008
hatenkou yuugi
Anime Relations: Hatenkou Yuugi
finished hatenkou yuugi today, which at the very end suddenly became very interesting again after leaving me mostly scratching my head as to whether there was a real story behind the scenes, rather than just a trio of comrades travelling and adventuring together. it's shoujo, but doesn't have the usual stupid shoujo romance tropes.
the main character is a young girl named rahzel, who one day is kicked out of her house by her father with the command to 'see the world'. umm. that comes as a surprise to rahzel, but she's sort of indomitable and decides to just go for it. pretty much right away she meets a stoic, grumpy young man named alzeid whom she tries to befriend despite him not being particularly interested. they're like oil and water, but feel strangely drawn to each other anyway -- which might have something to do with their shared magical powers. soon they're joined by a flippant, musclebound talker by name of baroqueheat (oh, japanese anime names!), and the trio wanders about and helps people who're in distress.
it feels somewhat episodic, but there are clearly background stories alluded to, and over time we get to find out bits and pieces. but not enough to really satisfy. anime does this a lot, and i hate it -- it's only a good whodunit for me if i can figure it out as we go along, but anime all too often choose the "info dump as denouement" instead.
so while i found the characters attractive and interesting, the lack of insight into what's happening makes me grumpy and leaves me feeling a bit empty. in the very last episode it becomes obvious that there should be a second season. i guess i could read the manga to find out, but first i'll just pout for a while.
the main character is a young girl named rahzel, who one day is kicked out of her house by her father with the command to 'see the world'. umm. that comes as a surprise to rahzel, but she's sort of indomitable and decides to just go for it. pretty much right away she meets a stoic, grumpy young man named alzeid whom she tries to befriend despite him not being particularly interested. they're like oil and water, but feel strangely drawn to each other anyway -- which might have something to do with their shared magical powers. soon they're joined by a flippant, musclebound talker by name of baroqueheat (oh, japanese anime names!), and the trio wanders about and helps people who're in distress.
it feels somewhat episodic, but there are clearly background stories alluded to, and over time we get to find out bits and pieces. but not enough to really satisfy. anime does this a lot, and i hate it -- it's only a good whodunit for me if i can figure it out as we go along, but anime all too often choose the "info dump as denouement" instead.
so while i found the characters attractive and interesting, the lack of insight into what's happening makes me grumpy and leaves me feeling a bit empty. in the very last episode it becomes obvious that there should be a second season. i guess i could read the manga to find out, but first i'll just pout for a while.
Posted by pleochroic | Dec 28, 2008 10:11 PM | 0 comments
ikoku irokoi romantan
Anime Relations: Ikoku Irokoi Romantan
ranmaru, a yakuza clan heir got married on a cruise ship, but he neither loves his new wife, nor does she love him. they argue a lot, and he ends up getting drunk and spending the night with albert valentino, the sexy captain of the ship, who has a thing not just for everything japanese, but especially for ranmaru in his traditional clothes, which al finds beyond sensuous. ranmaru gets into trouble at every opportunity, especially with a rival yakuza, and al always comes to the rescue.
the story is very lightweight in its manga version, and the anime makes it even lighter with the usual problem of BL OVAs which have to rush through their material to get away with the fewest episodes. the plot is preposterous, and i don't feel the love between the two here at all (while in the manga there was at least a little time for it to develop. but the translation to anime hasn't hurt yamano ayane's art much, the boys are pretty, and the voice talent is good (suwabe junichi and itou kentarou with okiayu ryoutaro as support). the sex is ... well, as much sex as we get in BL anime, which is to say, more implied than shown, but at least they don't fade to black like in gravitation, and it's mildly erotic.
eye candy to kill an hour, only worth buying for BL anime completists IMO.
the story is very lightweight in its manga version, and the anime makes it even lighter with the usual problem of BL OVAs which have to rush through their material to get away with the fewest episodes. the plot is preposterous, and i don't feel the love between the two here at all (while in the manga there was at least a little time for it to develop. but the translation to anime hasn't hurt yamano ayane's art much, the boys are pretty, and the voice talent is good (suwabe junichi and itou kentarou with okiayu ryoutaro as support). the sex is ... well, as much sex as we get in BL anime, which is to say, more implied than shown, but at least they don't fade to black like in gravitation, and it's mildly erotic.
eye candy to kill an hour, only worth buying for BL anime completists IMO.
Posted by pleochroic | Dec 28, 2008 12:06 AM | 0 comments