[Anime Reviews]

Kurenai end: to hell with realism, this ruled

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.

[11 Comments]

[Anime Reviews]

Kurenai 4-9: social observation and family dysfunction

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.

[4 Comments]

[Anime Reviews]

Kurenai: here’s to the child and all she has to teach us

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Kurenai]

It seems that the lolicon dabacle is mercifully dead and buried so we can now all concentrate on what Kurenai is and does rather than what the misguided individuals think it is. It’s certainly an unusual series, both in terms of aesthetics and storytelling - this is to me a shining example of well-made seinen anime that I find to be so refreshing and enjoyable. We need more shows like this - it has single-handedly cured me of my temporary writer’s block, which I’ll bear in mind when it finishes its all-too-short episode run.

Dialogue-driven win: lol@irony too

I’ve heard the art described as a bit patchy, which I concede is the case on occasion; while I appreciate the op and end animation sequences I can’t say I actually like them (and the black-and-white trimmed school uniforms make the students look like extras from The Prisoner too). There is a certain je ne sais quoi to the animation though, which a post at Hashihime helpfully explained; apparently the unusual technique of recording the dialogue first and animating it afterwards is applied to Kurenai, which gives it that organic and natural flow on-screen. Red Garden was treated the same way, as was Akira iirc. I’m sure this way of doing dialogue is more labour-intensive but the extra effort isn’t lost on me - it makes everything else broadcast at the moment look stilted and dry in comparison.

[6 Comments]

[First Impressions and Retrospectives]

Spring 2008 first impressions #1: Allison to Lillia, Itazura na Kiss, Kurenai

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Allison to Lillia, Itazura na Kiss, Kurenai]

Emerging caveman-like from Backlog Hell and mindful that one episode is never enough to get a decent grasp of what the shows will be like, my belated spring 2008 first impressions post is intentionally belated. Recently I’ve tried to see the previous season’s shows through to their respective ends and giving the new ‘uns two episodes before making my mind up on them; chances are I won’t be able to follow all of them but there’s no harm in trying. Hopefully I’ll get a better idea than guessing on the first ep alone, this way.

In other words my final thoughts on Clannad, Kaiji and (when the last ep is released) Ghost Hound will be forthcoming this week. I don’t know about you but following so much stuff simultaneously begins to get a bit confusing - there’s a lot coming up this season that promises good things so I don’t know how many more of these First Impressions posts there will be. At any rate, first up are Allison to Lillia, Ituzura na Kiss and Kurenai.

[7 Comments]