Darker than Black and the appeal of neo-noir

What with Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini, my rewatch of Kuro no Keiyakusha is a primer of sorts for getting back into the the story so I can hopefully breeze effortlessly(!) through. One of DtB‘s defining features was the way it held back on explanations for what appeared to be quite significant plot points to make it occasionally frustrating but undeniably compelling. I must admit that even on the second attempt I still can’t say for sure I understand everything but oddly this doesn’t really bother me as much as I expected.

darker-than-black-shinjuku
And yes, Shinjuku really does look as awesome as this IRL…

I don’t feel I have to understand the full background to the characters and their situations to understand them because enough of the important things are already made clear, which I hope was the intention of the writers. As is often the case I instead try to immerse myself in the worldview to let the answers reveal themselves in a passive fashion: something I find particularly easy for a show that takes the approach that this one does.

Mushishi (live-action)

I was extremely interested in the Mushishi live action film right from the first rumours and announcements; not only is it one of my all-time favourite animated TV shows (I really ought to read the graphic novels sometime), the fact that Katsuhiro Otomo was in charge as director made me preorder a copy without a second thought. Unfortunately it didn’t impress me as much as I’d hoped; if anything the end result was actually quite lacklustre. Considering the quality of the source material and the collective talent on board, I have to wonder how it didn’t manage to realise its potential.

mushishi-live-action-ginko

The TV show (and the graphic novel series, from what I’ve heard) was strictly episodic in structure, so any feature-length version has to splice a number of the individual stories together and smooth out the screenplay to make a coherent narrative. This is one thing that the movie does reasonably well: it features several story arcs that fans are familiar with but emphasises the background to Ginko’s childhood and its relevance to his present life in an over-arcing theme throughout the film. The cinematography is also excellent, but beyond that…I’m far from convinced.

Your hand in mine (the best first date ever)

There’s been a lot said about Bakemonogatari just lately, which makes me worry about whether I have anything new and valuable to say. I’d been relatively quiet about it for other reasons too: one being how the middle section of the show left me with mixed feelings. Another is that, as I mentioned in my comment to Gaguri’s excellent recent post, the overall experience of dialogue and visuals combined is so overwhelming that I’ll need a rewatch to appreciate it fully.

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Where’s a Reaction Guys-style celebration when you need one?

The problems with the middle episodes were minor ones: mostly the general absence of Hitagi, plus the ‘higher class of fanservice’ (as I clumsily called it) starting to feel a bit exploitative. Fortunately episode #12 made up for whatever I’d felt unsure about earlier on with the only remaining concern being that of the final three episodes. As in, how could anything follow on from this without feeling like a let-down? It was as fitting as it was surprising – I wouldn’t have minded too much if the series ended there and then.

Eve no Jikan (Time of Eve) Act 06: Masaki

This will get a second season, right? Right? As much as I praise various anime titles for being outstanding within that ‘anime’ context, it’s a rare thing indeed to experience one that transcends the genre convention – simply put, it’s great storytelling, full stop. No question. The long waits between releases, the short episode running times and the ONA distribution all worked to build up my anticipation for each instalment and leave me wanting more every time but the fact remains that it’s not only good anime; it’s just good.

one-last-cup-of-evlend

For every question answered in this episode (which is, I might add, a full ten minutes or so longer than the previous five) I reckon it posed another. But whatever. The way it effortlessly sways the viewer’s emotions every which way then leaves a bittersweet aftertaste is something to be treasured, really. I can’t stress how rewarding a rewatch is though, because there are little details that are important yet all too easy to miss; I’d love to see this in full HD. The Crunchyroll DtO option isn’t bad in itself: all good entertainment is worth paying for, after all.