This was another one that had sat on my to-watch list for absolutely ages but didn’t seem appealing enough for me to make time to watch. To be honest, it wasn’t all that great but isn’t bad either; for those of us who appreciate that sort of thing it has enough genuine drama to make it more than a film studies history lesson but it’s a bit dated and the sedate pace isn’t what viewers these days are accustomed to.
This is very much a product of its time: it features Tomoyo Harada, a screen idol of the early 80s who has since become a singer/songwriter with a pretty respectable back catalogue, albeit no longer as a household name. The director Nobuhiko Obayashi is another old industry regular that I’m not familiar with but he’s apparently notorious for his surreal style; any oddness present in this film isn’t excessive, but it’s interesting.
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Reading stats: 931 words, 4 images; estimated reading time 3:43 mins
I started watching this back in ’08 but for a number of reasons I didn’t get around to finishing it. The subbing was sporadic, the plot derailed into a lengthy period of three blokes sitting around a table talking, other shows caught my interest, etc., etc.. Last week though I finally sat down and practically forced myself to finish the thing; the mid section was as tedious as I remember but pushing on to the finale was worth every minute.
This is an extremely unusual series, which is why I’m not surprised that it’s already virtually forgotten. It’s straight-faced and serious as hell, challenging the viewer from the outset by starting off very weird indeed. And it gets weirder. Even so, I found it to be a piece of sheer bloody genius with a multi-layered maze of a plot that starts off with bizarre yuri overtones, moves into hard-boiled detective fiction with serial killers and femmes fatales, dabbles in esoteric Japanese folklore and rounds it all off with a closing act that reaches Nasu-esque levels of twisted insanity.
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Reading stats: 916 words, 4 images; estimated reading time 3:40 mins
I wish it were easier for us overseas listeners to sample the eclectic and inventive independent Japanese music scene. We often have to rely on the efforts of bilingual fellow fans and/or word of mouth, which was how I discovered the instrumental five-piece mudy on the 昨晩 (the kana segment of their name is pronounced ‘sakuban’). Thanks to the wonders of the internet I was impressed enough with their full-length debut Pavilion to import the CD. Who says online music file-sharing is bad for record sales? ^_^
Sakuban already have two EPs Voi and Kidnie to their name but their reputation at home appears to be based largely on their live shows. Perhaps this is why the production of Pavilion has a deliberately live feel with little evidence of overdubbing or studio effects processing. Although it is the polar opposite of overproduced, the sound is clear, powerful and exhilarating; the arrangements are noticably more complex than those of their earlier material too.
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Reading stats: 876 words, 1 image; estimated reading time 3:30 mins
Tokyo Sonata is a domestic drama from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, a director who has made his name in the horror genre with the likes of Kairo and Bright Future. This film then is a marked departure for him but it is also unlike most titles in Japanese cinema that I’ve seen on international home video release. Its quietly powerful realism and topical themes make it, for me, one of the most important Japanese films of recent years.
If there’s one thing I find fascinating about contemporary Japan it’s the presence of contrasts that are baffling to an outside first-time visitor. This has been heightened in the past decade or two by fundamental changes that are inexorably altering the society’s status quo, so the ramifications for its defining features of harmony, tradition and smooth routine are quite striking.
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Reading stats: 1025 words, 3 images; estimated reading time 4:06 mins
As of this week I’m looking after my sister’s cat, which is one of the reasons why I’ve been too busy to post and reply to comments lately. Now I have three full weeks of paid leave I’m able to keep an eye on the kitteh, update here, catch up on animu and movies, visit friends, write songs, arrange my career change, etc., etc..
Classy
I’ve been following High School of the Dead and Shiki only a couple of eps behind people who’ve kept up with them properly but K-On!! is the one thing I’ve found time to watch every week. My earlier attempt at explaining my position only caused misunderstandings, although the resulting discussions made up for the disappointment I felt at the time. I just can’t bring myself around to the view of the hypothetical ‘haters’ for the simple reason that the series shouldn’t elicit a stronger negative reaction than a mere lack of interest…a view I can explain with my view on moe. And cats.
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Reading stats: 1124 words, 4 images; estimated reading time 4:30 mins
If it weren’t for certain people sharing the updates via GRSI this would’ve been one of those things that slipped under my radar: Viz setting up a line of titles that are a marked departure from their usual light/graphic novels. Haikasoru appears to be geared towards a more, dare I say it, *serious* readership who are interested in their usual output but a bit more besides. The promotional blurb speaks of “Space opera, dark fantasy, hard science.” Delicious.
Needless to say, this could be the best (or worst, when the time comes to move into a new place) thing to happen to my bookcase in months. To kick things off I picked up Usurper of the Sun by Housuke Nojiri, which went by the tagline “Arthur C Clarke meets Haruki Murakami”, presumably because there aren’t many other Japanese novelists who are familiar to English-speaking readers. Call me cynical, but I’m always wary of advert-speak that promises anything that good.
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Reading stats: 919 words, 1 image; estimated reading time 3:41 mins
I’ve been hearing rumblings about this one for quite some time but since my brain makes connections in the most arcane and awkward ways I attached a bizarre preconception to it (something to do with it sounding similar to Cat Soup, which is a show I’ve considered watching for the Yuasa factor but never summoned the courage to try…go figure). It turns out to be nothing like whatever I expected, anyway. It’s all about rabbits with guns.
Cat Shit One is very, very different from pretty much everything else around right now, which is reason enough for me to recommend it on its own. The idea of anthropomorphised rabbits rescuing hostages from armed terrorist camels is indeed absurd but it was surprisingly easy for me to forget the sight of cottontails twitching prior to an all-out firefight because it was, with this quirk aside, hell of a lot of fun. So much so that I was able to accept the concept and simply enjoy the action.
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Reading stats: 946 words, 3 images; estimated reading time 3:47 mins
I try to avoid the lowest-common-denominator trashy titles what with my free time being at such a premium and with the Backlog being the way it is, but there’s no harm in giving new shows a fighting chance. Long story short, there’s a lot of stuff around that doesn’t interest me and I still haven’t found the opportunity to write some deep ‘n’ meaningful editorial for a while. I haven’t got as far as the latest NoitaminA offerings yet though, so all isn’t lost. Legservice, boobs and zombies ought to be a good place to start though, right?
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Reading stats: 492 words, 3 images; estimated reading time 1:58 mins
Categories: On screen
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Tags: Anime, short post
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