[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Kurenai end: to hell with realism, this ruled
Hands up who hated the ending? Thought as much. If the series as a whole wasn’t of such high quality I’m not sure whether I would have looked up the way it played out as kindly either, but on reflection it was fitting, clever and was probably the nearest the writers could get to a happy ending for all concerned. Kurenai was a series that repeatedly threatened to fall off the Tightrope of Win and land in the Pit of Fail beneath, only to pull itself together and deliver more than most of the other recent offering would ever hope to: moments such as a profound monologue discussing the nature of free will left me impressed with its insight and intelligence…only to mentally jump back a step when I stopped forgetting it was being spoken by a character who was supposed to be seven years old.
I have a rule of thumb that states: when I want reality on my TV, I watch the news. Believable is a good thing but staying within the confines of Real Life to the point at which it impedes on the effectiveness of the storytelling is a cost that’s too high. Even when we’re in an everyday setting it sometimes helps the story along when ‘realistic’ environs look better than the photographs that the background artists are working from, for instance. Rewatching 5cm on the big screen reminded me of this, but Kurenai is another example of why we really ought to give writers artistic licence in order to give their narratives and characters enough room to move; because they are, after all, stories. Is Murasaki a realistic portrayal of a child her age? Not really. Is her character compelling, entertaining and thought-provoking? Definitely. Enough so in fact to overlook the minor flaws and appreciate the significant things it got right.
I must admit that as fun as car chases are, a forty-five degree sideways incline in several inches of snow will never allow you to steer a car in a straight line at those speeds: whatever the specs the car may have or whatever training the driver takes, that sort of malarky fools nobody. Leave that sort of stuff for Bean Bandit, please. At least the damage is portrayed convincingly though - fixing cars costs a lot (I’d know), and when they’re as pricey and shiny as this I shudder at the cost; Benika’s no-claims bonus gouged some irritating gashes in the Kuhouin decor.
The hand-to-hand combat fared better however - the time-wasting dialogue between moves that is staple in far-Eastern TV and cinema is still here of course (why taunt each other when you can get down to business of settling it?) but it had a visceral, fluid and down-and-dirty feel to it. When highly trained and ruthless people try to kick each other’s arses this is how I imagine it goes: violently, painfully and over all too quickly for those who enjoy watching it. The finale cleverly broke the stalemate with a neat comeback technique that’s unexpected but is still in keeping with events earlier in the series - Yayoi is one of those quiet types who takes everyone by surprise in a marvellously understated way.
When I try to decide if I should be satisfied with the ending of a series I try to look back and work out what the show was trying to tell us in the first place. Was Kurenai purely about a lad with cool fighting moves saving a loli from her family of uber-rich sickos? Unless you have the mental faculties of plankton, it should be obvious that it tried, and often succeeded, in being much more. The ‘middle ground’ resolution that neither frees Murasaki from the Kuhouins entirely nor throws her back into a world of darkness is I think perfectly in keeping with the story’s complex morality and refusal to offer a cut-and-dried solution.
In showing Murasaki a world outside and in some ways making her aware of her own self, Shinkuro and Benika sowed the seeds of free will in her mind and gave her what she needed to cope with adversity; although a thorough beating of the Kuhouins’ goons hammered their point home, Shinkuro and Benika managed to save Murasaki from a life of servitude without having to remove her from her family at all - mission accomplised. The Inner Sanctuary isn’t just a physical prison: it also traps the occupants by fooling them into thinking there is no alternative. Give the likes of Murasaki ideas such as walking through town, spending time with friends or falling in love, and you can never take away her freedom completely.
As for Shinkuro, his time spent with Murasaki gave him some more guidance and perspective regarding what true strength is. I doubt he fully comprehends that concept just yet (hell, I don’t think I do either) but it’s been one of those character-building exercises in that sense, again giving him useful means to get on in life. My only regret in that regard is the amount of background that could have been called upon, both regarding Shinkuro and the supporting characters, but all that remained patiently waiting in the wings. Some people will hate it for this too but considering the relatively short episode run and the amount of substance still crammed into those twelve short episodes I don’t think that’s worth dwelling on too much. Apart from the “I can has second season?” pleading later, obviously.
Perhaps the greatest thing that I’ll remember about Kurenai, even when the lifelike character designs, stunning artwork and sharp dialogue fade from my memory, is the engaging nature of the two leads. It finished on a bang: a car chase, hand-to-hand combat and even a brutal murder but my final thought was that of wondering where their lives will take them; not a bad parting shot by an show’s standards.
Posted on June 27th, 2008 @ 12:25 am
or they could had just freed the girl and make it a happy ending. This is a show of entertainment, not a way to teach philosophical lessons. Kids watch this show for fun, not for hidden messages. The writers really ruined this show for many viewers while giving the few like yous a way to make it into a debate on right and wrong. If i wanted to see a show about political messages and etc, i watch the democrats and republicans debate. i want my happy ending damn it. WHERE IS IT?
Posted on June 27th, 2008 @ 1:06 am
Great review (if I am allowed to call it a review ;)). Realism is nothing, inherent logic within a show is everything. In other words, one can easily enjoy both the meticulous attention to the laws of physics in Planetes and the cool battles made possible by the blatant disregard of these same laws in just about any mecha or fighting anime.
And yes, despite all the other worthy stuff, the characters are the most memorable thing in Kurenai indeed.
P.S. xdotx, I really hope your comment was nothing but irony. If not, I would like to hear about the political messages in Kurenai since i failed to notice any.
Posted on June 27th, 2008 @ 1:20 am
Did you just say that Kure-nai isn’t flawless? Better start running, I sense a bloodthirsty Kurenai-phile mob heading this way.
Posted on June 27th, 2008 @ 1:23 am
the political message they are trying to convey is that japanese people are trapped by tradition and a dictatorship (kouhin in this case) and they need to fight from the inside to make change happens. You can’t hope to make changes by running away from your problem (or leaving japan). do you get it yet? or do I need to spell it out for u?
Posted on June 27th, 2008 @ 2:10 am
who knows they might give us a 2nd season with murasaki grown up version 8D
Posted on June 27th, 2008 @ 2:23 am
Here is an example of why kurenai had a bad ending. i laughed when i saw this .
http://lostlink.wordpress.com/2008/06/27/4-koma-oh-lord-let-my-loli-go/
Posted on June 27th, 2008 @ 6:43 pm
I think Kurenai is one of those series that delivered up so much perfection that no ending could possibly have done it justice. With that in mind, this closing episode did enough I think to wrap the series up, while still leaving us (or me at least) asking for more.
Despite being pretty hectic there was still time for some more great dialogue (and Benika’s “No parking at the Inner Sanctum?” quip was a classic), and the actual answer to whether Murasaki would be saved or not was refreshing by not being black or white, as life so rarely is. Given all that, I was really pretty disappointed by the cop-out regarding Benika (how did she not die after that?!), but I can forgive that one flaw considering how many great things this series has provided me with during its run.
In short then, I think you’ve summed it all up pretty well.
Posted on June 27th, 2008 @ 8:11 pm
Honestly I liked the ending a lot more than I thought I was going to, especially given that I had already accepted the fact that there would be unrealistic “everybody was kung-fu fighting” action to wrap things up. I’m glad that they stuck to focusing on what made me love the series, the characters, and kept away from what would’ve been a truly bad ending with Shinkuro taking Murasaki and running away. I’m not really one to speculate on the implications of the ending however, so I’ll leave that to those who are more willing to do so.
Posted on June 27th, 2008 @ 10:44 pm
For all its character work, this series was still working within a linear story structure. When it screws around with the inherent believability some people are always going to object. The big head-scratcher for me was Yayoi’s complete recovery from her beating last episode.
On the other hand, I LIKED how she kicked butt in the last ep. So I put that incongruity (like the others) to the side and just enjoyed.
The characters were developed so well that I was almost afraid to watch the last couple episodes because I was afraid of what might happen to them. Which is a credit to the show.
Posted on June 27th, 2008 @ 11:17 pm
I actually thought things were resolved a bit too quickly after all the buildup, but oh well. It didn’t really tickle me in the places that a show does for me to look at it like it was a memorable experience, but it was still a fun episode. Here’s to hoping for some extra episodes. :3
Posted on June 30th, 2008 @ 11:45 pm
@xdotx: I think you’ve misunderstood what the show was getting at - and the fact that Murasaki stayed with the Kuhouins was specifically so she wouldn’t be running away. As for the politics thing, you’re kidding, right?
@Matrim: cheers. Yeah, it’s part review, part editorial. I try to blur the line between the two, or just write without trying to make it one or the other. As for the show itself, “Realism is nothing, inherent logic within a show is everything.” is a great way of putting it actually. I’m dying to see Planetes too, but I can’t afford it right now, sadly.
@Baka-Raptor: there are flaws, but they’re kinda minor so I thought I’d mention them but highlight how the good aspects are much more important. If you want flawless, check out Mushishi!
@ka: I’m not sure if there will be a second season - not without making large changes to the novel’s storyline or similar…or so I’ve heard. I’d still like to see how Shin and Murasaki get on in life a few years down the line.
@Hanners: I wasn’t sure how Benika survived that injury either. But then, her driving skills are superhuman too…still, when it does everything else so well I still can’t dwell on trivialities like that.
@Absolutely Steve: you have a pretty good grasp on the ending as far as I can tell - the characters really are the most important thing, and the action serves as a secondary thing. If Shinkuro whisked Murasaki away again, I’m not sure there would be that feeling of resolution.
@Peter S: I couldn’t agree more! It’s not often when I’m impatiently checking the listings almost daily, just to grab the next ep and see what happens next. I’d love to see it on DVD (as Red Garden is, quite recently) but we’ll have to wait and see.
@TheBigN: Definitely - twelve episodes weren’t enough!