[OAVs, Movies and Full Series]

Serial Experiments Lain

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Over-analysis, Yoshitoshi ABe]

My first taste of Ghost Hound has reminded me of an old fave that had led me to it (and Kino’s Journey) in the first place - Nakamura’s Serial Experiments: Lain. It has long held a special place in my collection for being my first experience with ‘arty’ anime and undoubtedly set my viewing on its course that was destined to be littered with headscratcher titles. It was - and in my view still is - a landmark production that leads us to question technology and our perception of reality; at the same time it occasionally gets panned for being obtuse and overrated.

I agree that it’s obtuse but for those of us who dig the whole deep and meaningful thing, Lain is a classic in every sense. A very important aspect to its appeal I think was the involvement of Yoshitoshi ABe in the designs for the characters and other artwork - Nakamura and Konaka provided the cryptic storyline and distinctive narrative structure but ABe’s input added the icing on the proverbial cake. The atmosphere of the show, almost as important as its themes and ideas at times, is largely attributed to ABe’s unique art style; I was so impressed with his skills that I hunted down the recent reissue of the Lain artbook, in hardback no less. His approach evolved independently from the standard methods of learning how to draw and design for anime and manga, which gave an effect akin to a classically-trained musician lending his or her talents to a rock band. The end result is that it’s different, refreshing and it sets itself away from similarly themed efforts.

[8 Comments]

[OAVs, Movies and Full Series]

Haibane Renmei and me

Posted by Martin  [Tags: iyashikei, realistic fiction, Self-indulgent nostalgia, Yoshitoshi ABe]

I’m trying a little experiment with this post. This won’t be my usual reviewing - outlining what’s good and what’s bad, basing the degree of how recommendable it is on that and so on. I want to add a bit of me-ness into this one even if the quality suffers - not just saying what I think about this series based on the usual criteria, but giving a more in-depth explanation as to why it’s so special. I’m adding a lot more lyric quotes too…just to see if I can do it.

I won’t dwell on the beauty of Kou Otani’s soundtrack here, nor talk too much at length about the otherworldly artistic style of the show, as much as they lend a lot to the its unique atmosphere. Interestingly though Yoshitoshi ABe was the screenplay writer as well as being behind the overall concept: unlike Texhnolyze and Lain, his input was thematic as well as artistic. Looking at how powerful Haibane Renmei’s messages are, I feel this to be significant: it really feels like he’s drawing inspiration from personal experience which gives the show much greater authenticity, although individual impressions will probably differ slightly from viewer to viewer.

[10 Comments]

[Anime Reviews]

Texhnolyze episodes 1-6

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Texhnolyze, Yoshitoshi ABe]

“The lives we make never seem to get us anywhere but dead…the day I tried to live I wallowed in the blood and mud…”

The above song lyric quote exemplifies the overall feel of this series: bleak, grungy, harsh yet strangely compelling. As you might expect with character designer Yoshitoshi ABe on board it’s a highbrow, cryptic and arty effort that probably doesn’t have much mainstream appeal; personally I really like the unconventional, pretentious complex storytelling and deliberately cruel and inhospitable environs of this show.

A view of Luckuss

[7 Comments]

[Specials]

Serial Experiments Lain artbook

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Yoshitoshi ABe]

I’m not usually into the large artbooks that are heavy on pictures but lacking in adding to the stories that inspired them; I like to read books, not merely look at the pictures. In the case of Yoshitoshi ABe I’m willing to make an exception though, because Reload an Omnipresence in Wired, like everything else he’s done, is a little bit special.

[No Comments]