See topic title!
| See topic title! Not that I have no time to watch both, so I might watch them at some point regardless of the outcome of this poll/topic. I had the movie recommended from someone, but I noticed the series has a slightly better rating. So that's why I am very curious to see what watchers that went before me think. Is the show better? Or the movie? Do they overlap a lot? New content? Etc. And before you ask: Yes, I understand that the book is good and that I should read it instead. That's not what I am asking, alright? ;) |
MALGRAPH____ |
astra_moon said: This comes over a year late, not sure if it might still be relevant to you, but I'll throw my hat in the ring.See topic title! Not that I have no time to watch both, so I might watch them at some point regardless of the outcome of this poll/topic. I had the movie recommended from someone, but I noticed the series has a slightly better rating. So that's why I am very curious to see what watchers that went before me think. Is the show better? Or the movie? Do they overlap a lot? New content? Etc. And before you ask: Yes, I understand that the book is good and that I should read it instead. That's not what I am asking, alright? ;) Short answer: the Dezaki TV anime is slightly better than the Sugii movie, both are very flawed and just kinda OK but worth a watch still. If you want to watch both, do the TV series first. Long answer: Both I think have their merits to watch for specific reasons - Sugii's movie is a really atmospheric, painterly film that is cool to just vibe with and soak in the rich visuals and mood, Dezaki's is the director's swan song ultimately, and if you have any interest in one of the most influential anime creatives in the medium, I think it's worth checking out his final work as something of historical value in a way. If you plan to watch both, I'd actually advise watching the TV series first and then the movie. Dezaki's version given its format is more willing to show a lot of the events of the early chapters of the novel as a proper account of everything that happens - it's easier to discern who the different characters are, their motivations are established, the consequences and movement of the plot is all more clear, it's just way more coherent. It has a lot of neat visuals itself with cool superimpositions and effects, a lot of nice natural backgrounds and kaleidoscopic colors and such, even if it has a bit of Dezaki's weird late period habit of these overexposed frames that make the images foggier and look like sunlight is directed right on the frame, but still more manageable than some of his other late stuff. Genji in this version is constantly shown to be well-meaning (or trying to be) and acting with passion and ache in a lot of what he does, though this version doesn't show him feeling any kind of remorse or self-reflection even as some bad stuff starts to happen in relation to him, and when he's properly indicted in the end, it still feels almost lax on him and he's still painted as kinda weak or sympathetic in a way, but at least he expressly faces some setbacks. Genji in Sugii's version is a bit more ominous and forceful (rather than trying to make him look more completely sympathetic despite being a selfish hedonist), and while this film also doesn't provide as much insight to his mind as I would've liked and how he processes these events and deals with his emotions, there's a lot more lingering takes, pensive looks and a few bits of memories and visions that affect Genji which you could kind of parse out if you really dug deep, but while I think Genji's is still noted at the end of the film, it isn't exactly shown at the end and feels like a passive footnote, and the film distracts you with kind of a more nebulous and strange ending than a proper narrative endcap that the TV series tries for at least, so they don't make Genji's actual punishment in context feel as though it has much bearing even if it feels like he's a bit more reflexive slightly in this version if that makes sense. The way the TV series plays out and showing the different women and their various hangups with Genji is interesting and touches on some stuff about sin and desire that can be kinda neat, though again, given how this version feels more like it is chronicling events and doesn't probe internally into the character too much and the greater drama of things, it can feel like it's lacking a bigger motivator for the narrative (it doesn't feel quite as static enough to fly as slice of life, more just like a drama where the "action" and its effects tends to slide off sometimes). What remains can be kind of a formulaic series of Genji going around sleeping with a myriad women one after another before they kinda move to the background for a while, even if the visuals can keep it interesting, but I can understand it being tiring, but just something to keep in mind going in. The movie is even more impenetrable than the TV series, it barely establishes a key conflict/motivator for either Genji or the external goings-on either, and you learn about the names of the characters and their desires in passing, maybe seeing them appear a few times before Genji will finally bring up their name later and talk about a prior event which you never see and kinda just have to roll with in trying to piece together the relevance of each one. It's like purely mood oriented, and if you can gel with the quiet, gorgeous atmosphere it sets up, it flies by rather quickly considering it doesn't otherwise set up too much to get invested in. It's more about Genji's dissatisfaction and trying to process impermanence and its beauty, trying to fill the hole in his life which you kind of understand more by feeling while the TV series is a bit more telling. There's a key image of Genji trying to store some stray sakura petals in a tree, some of his passing comments about not feeling satisfied with his life and trying to feel that experience he had with his stepmom again, and just kinda mulling about in his beautiful surroundings looking for something to do. It's kind of a hard sell, but I think the visuals are just really great and it's a bit of an interesting object worth giving a look just for the experience, it's certainly rather unique and has kind of a confident flare that makes it feel like it has something worth ingesting (YMMV whether you think there's something to it or if it's just hollow BS, but worth a shot I think lol). So yeah, again, both are OK, Dezaki's should be watched first and is the better of the 2 if you had to choose between them, but it's more of a straightforward charting of big plot points and characters than a rich, 3-dimensional adaptation, while Sugii's is an opaque but soothing and intriguing mood piece to take in for something a little more unconventional if you so choose. Just my 2 cents. P.S. Also, they both adapt around to the same point (11/12 chapters) to my understanding, though the movie omits a lot of stuff and throws you in the middle of things moreso. Couldn't really remember the weeds of what events are different to a tee, but just how the story is told is very different between the 2. |
AngelsArcanumAug 27, 2023 4:01 PM
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