26 Jun 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Kurenai]
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.
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Reading stats: 985 words & 3 images; estimated reading time 3:56 mins
[11 Comments]
23 Jun 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Live events, Makoto Shinkai, Unashamed fanboying]
In case you’re wondering why things have been quiet in recent days, I’ve been out of town. Given the time and expense involved I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing in getting the train all the way to London just to see a movie (admittedly I also met up with one of my closest friends who lives in London now, but still…I actually booked an afternoon off work for this) but as it turns out the hassle was worth it: 5cm Per Second looks great on the big screen. Fantastic actually. Shinkai is also really modest and down-to-earth when talking about his own work, which is evident in recorded interviews but all the more noticeable when you meet him in person - I made handwritten notes of the hour-long interview that followed too, which I’ve posted on the Nakama Britannica blog for those interested.
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Reading stats: 256 words & 1 image; estimated reading time 1:01 mins
[2 Comments]
19 Jun 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Eureka Seven]
And so we reach the end of the road for Renton, Eureka, the Gekkostate and the others as the final confrontation with the true nature of the Coralians looms: Dewey swings his plan into action while our heroes make a desperate final attempt to find a peaceful solution. Of all the expectations I had of the series’ conclusion, at least one turned out to be right on the money: it’s heartfelt and suitably epic.
That’s epic in the sense that nobody we’ve met along the way is left untouched by the events that transpire in the last five episodes. The show introduced recurring demonstrations of the importance of harmony and understanding, which plays out both on personal and literally universal levels. For a story that featured such a numerous cast as this, it’s testament to the writing that I remembered, and cared about, every one of them; in the same way that the overall aesthetic is bold and bright, each significant character will linger long in my memory.
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Reading stats: 936 words & 4 images; estimated reading time 3:45 mins
[9 Comments]
15 Jun 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Toshokan Sensou]
Toshokan Sensou, or to go by its neat translated title of Library Wars, is simultaneously lightweight fun, and thought provoking and serious. As I outlined in my last post regarding the Macross franchise, you don’t have to forgo brightness and humour to make a serious point; get the balance right and you can have it both ways. TS is doing what Macross often does, albeit on a smaller scale: it deals with heavy-going issues but presents enough laughs to make them easier to swallow. Actually, Eureka Seven takes the same approach but more on that later on this week.
When the setting for an armed confrontation is as incongruous as this, it has to be good
So, TS is either Serious Business or simple fun, depending on how you want to take it. I don’t think either aspect gets in the way of the other either - I’ve yet to see any humour that’s misplaced or experience the social commentary bogging down the entertainment value. All in all then it does what it sets out to do very effectively, even if it doesn’t stand out as an A-list title. In many ways it borrows much of its appeal from Full Metal Panic! in terms of military action and educational hijinks, and that ever-present Geek Chic (I’d copyright that term if it weren’t already well-known enough to be listed on Wikipedia) stemming from the library setting, which reminds me very strongly of the R.O.D. OAV and TV series. Good stuff all round then.
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Reading stats: 994 words & 3 images; estimated reading time 3:59 mins
[8 Comments]
10 Jun 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Macross, Macross Frontier, Unashamed fanboying]
After languishing in the seventh level of Backlog Hell I realised that I hadn’t blogged Macross Frontier since the First Impressions posts. My bad. Despite the strong start to the series, things took a bit of a dip after a while, culminating in a thoroughly disappointing episode eight that featured lazy animation, fillerish content and had a chase through the school after a pair of undies as its centerpiece. Since Most People™ are following this show too, it’s safe to say you know I’m not making that up; for all my Macross fanboying, I struggled to find anything to say about it.
Enter episode ten which, among other things, borrows a lot from the Macross Zero OAV. I haven’t had chance to re-watch and blog that yet but for all its pretty-shinyness that was an underwhelming offering in terms of characterisation and, well, everything apart from the pretty-shinyness. Frontier delivers on at least some of the visuals; in terms of content though it wins hands-down over its high-budget predecessor. My expectations were high given its Anniversary status but now I can look enthusiastically upon Frontier as a worthy addition to the franchise I know and love.
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Reading stats: 1202 words & 4 images; estimated reading time 4:48 mins
[9 Comments]
07 Jun 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Kaiba]
If I hadn’t promised myself that I wouldn’t blog episodically any more Kaiba would be one show that I’d find easy to blog episodically. It’s an interesting experiment in playing around with the linear narrative idea - while the instalments are clearly in chronological order each one is a self-contained piece that examines a particular planet and situation before our hero moves onto another planet, learning more about the bizarre universe he’s found himself in as he goes.
The recurring issue of memory rears its head again, most notably in the cases of Patch, the lonely inventor whose former assistant lives on in the form of a dog, and the elderly couple in episode 6. In the case of Patch, maybe ignorance is bliss…he is saved from the full extent of the realisation of what he’s lost through forgetting every day. The conclusion to the latter situation, if you emphasise the hopeful aspect, bore a passing resemblence to the end of Place Promised… in that we see the two of them for the last time setting out to spend the rest of their lives replacing the memories that were lost. It is a tragic moment of course, but is a result of the ease by which memories in the Kaiba universe can be moved and exchanged; cruelly ironic in that the old couple had avoided these very practices to enjoy their lives and memories in the conventional way. I’ve covered some of the implications of how memories are portrayed and used in this show but the other half of this issue - that of the question of identity - has come to the fore too.
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Reading stats: 1056 words & 4 images; estimated reading time 4:13 mins
[6 Comments]
06 Jun 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Kurenai]
Where would we be without needlessly pretentious post titles, eh? ^_^ Kurenai has covered a lot of ground since I last had chance to blog it, in the characterisation rather than storyline sense at least. It’s fair to say that most of the events during the middle section of the series are concerned with the characters and their relationships: placing Shinkuro and Murasaki together has been a culture shock for them both, leading to some fascinating life lessons even though the storyline didn’t go anywhere in particular. As the nature of Murasaki’s former home becomes clearer, the true value of those trivial everyday scenes is gradually pulled into focus so complaining about how nothing much happens is quite honestly beside the point; it’s fair enough if you’re disappointed with the lack of fast-paced action but by now it’s obvious where the show’s intentions lie there.
A more uneventful train ride this time
And yes, that even applies to the comedic musical episode. While it qualifies as filler in as many senses of the term as you care to name it still offered little insights into the characters and the ways in which they interact. With the episode count in mind it’s heartening to know that not even the mid-season filler ep is completely wasting time - as funny as their behaviour was, we saw aspects to their personalities that would not have otherwise come to light.
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Reading stats: 978 words & 3 images; estimated reading time 3:55 mins
[4 Comments]
02 Jun 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Allison to Lillia, Over-analysis, Rants]
I’m so strongly in two minds about Allison & Lillia: on one hand it’s old-school style feelgood entertainment that had me glued to the screen from start to finish; on the other hand the direction and screenplay writing are so amateurish that it was enough to make me cringe in embarrassment and sketch out how even I could do the job better. Be warned that this post is looooong and involves a foray into the theory and structure of narratives to make my point…sorry if it’s tl;dr because I know the likes of IKnight and Sat-kun are much better educated in that literary criticism stuff than I am. I just have to rant about how bad writing is spoiling a great series.
Should have seen it coming?
I actually started to make a short list of plot holes and inconsistencies on my mini-blog, the full version of which I’ll set out after the ‘read moar’ tag. The thing is, although this show sucks noodles on some levels it’s frustratingly good on others. I’m not on about merely the artwork or music - neither can be faulted - because the conceptually this is a really extraordinary show. It’s just that I can’t believe the original novel’s author, Keiichi Sigsawa, would make such glaring mistakes in an otherwise great story.
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Reading stats: 1483 words & 4 images; estimated reading time 5:56 mins
[19 Comments]
29 May 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Shakugan no Shana]
One hell of an opening line, that (it’s from Clever Sleazoid, heathens). Given that I’d dipped my toes into the Shakugan no Shana franchise via the feature film, I already had some idea of how our hapless hero, who as the above title suggests snuffs it in the first few minutes, meets our favourite flame-haired tsundere…and fantastical hijinks ensue. I’m sure every blogger and his/her mum has seen this TV version before I have but the R2 DVD version has just washed up on our rainy shores and at a reasonable price too. To be honest I don’t care much for extras so a cheap disc with a respectable episode count and little else is fine by me.
The premise? Yuuji is an ordinary kid with an ordinary life but gets caught up in a battle involving two factions of beings from the Crimson Realm who eat human souls and those who fight to maintain the balance of existence respectively…and winds up dead, only not. Swordplay, bright lights, pretty-shiny explosions, supernatural stuff and funny stuff, etc., etc.. I’m sure you know all that better than I do if the Shana title led you to this post so I’ll leave the synopsis there.
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Reading stats: 829 words & 3 images; estimated reading time 3:19 mins
[4 Comments]
27 May 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: First Impressions and Retrospectives, Real Drive, Toshokan Sensou]
It’s halfway through the season and people are already starting to look to the next one…and I’m still finishing my First Impressions for spring. Heh. The final two candidates for my ever-growing watch list are Real Drive and Toshokan Sensou.
*Cough*
In other news I’m thinking about changing my blog’s theme to revitalise my enthusiasm…Frozen Twilight 1.0 is beginning to look a bit drab.
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Reading stats: 502 words & 3 images; estimated reading time 2:00 mins
[11 Comments]
