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Posts tagged “Anime”
The Wings of Honneamise: still reaching for the stars after twenty-three years
I guess films are like the studios that create them: some are still going strong year after year, some enjoy a resurgence in popularity long after their big break, some fade into obscurity while others try to last out on reputation alone. Although I’m a Gainax fanboy I wondered how the their debut production, Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise, had stood the test of time.
Is its reputation deserved? Old-school fans can be fiercely loyal to the stuff they hold dear after all, especially when it’s seen through the soft-focus rose tint of nostalgia. Some titles are popular for popularity’s sake but others, such as this one, are enduring simply because they’re good.
Sora no Woto: goodbye blue sky
If I said that the opening theme tune to Sora no Woto wasn’t part of the reason I watched it, I’d be lying. I recall that I started watching ef -a Tale of Memories because of the music too, so it’s hardly the first time. I’ll admit part of me just wanted to see the K-on! comparisons crash and burn in front of the fandumb’s eyes but more than anything the premise was one of the best I’ve read in ages.
As I read down the staff list I realised that none of the K-On! staff were involved in this at all; hell, it’s not even a KyoAni production! I stand firmly corrected on that point then. The background artwork was still stunning though – even when not much was happening there was always something nice to look at and let my imagination fill the gaps in the narrative. I still got a sense though that the series was suffering from some sort of identity crisis.
On wartime anime and re-watchability
Being the dutiful fan I am I prefer retail copies of DVDs over downloading as long as they’re available in English but when I’m paying for something I want to be confident it’ll be worthwhile. Keeping the receipt is the easy answer but when shelf space and money are at a premium I want series and movies to be ‘rewatchable’. I’m kinda elaborating on this comment, at any rate.
I can watch some stuff, such as The Place Promised…, Laputa and Paprika over and over; I’ve watched others once but they’ve sat gathering dust ever since. There are one or two purchases that I actually regretted, despite the titles themselves being very good. Actually, they were…too good for their own good.
Categories: On screen
Tags: Anime, editorial, nasuverse, realistic fiction, Studio Ghibli, war drama
9 Comments
A feelgood hit for the summer
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time came pretty much out of nowhere. I had no idea who Mamoru Hosoda was and I’m unfamiliar with Yasutaka Tsutsui’s ‘Timeleap’ franchise so didn’t know what to expect from it at all. It’s not a luxury that Summer Wars enjoys though because the fans, me included, were impressed with this newbie director and were expecting more wonderful things from him and his team. Summer Wars is indeed a wonderful thing: not as personal or introspective as its predecessor but makes up for this on the fun factor and sheer spectacle.
I can’t bring myself to say it’s ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than Tokikake because they’re quite different in themes and storytelling approach so I probably shouldn’t place much value on direct comparisons. And yeah, this is The Post I promised I’d write (thanks in no small part to the excellent pieces from Gaguri, Chaostangent and Ghostlightning); now the high-def version is online I hope there are finally enough people to share my thoughts with.
How Shinkai reminded me that the earth is not a cold dead place
A few days off work have eased a bit of the writer’s block but I must admit that my K-On! post stubbornly refuses to leave Draft Rewrite Hell. Anyway. A little late given that Global Shinkai Day was last weekend, I feel the need to hammer out more strings of words to mark the event. It’s pretty neat to have a special time set aside to raise awareness for a filmmaker…we should have a Global Kon or Oshii day sometime in the year too.
Given the context, “What she said.”
I’ve rewatched the various bits of the Shinkai back catalogue but it was nice to have an excuse to marathon them all in one go (She and Her Cat, Voices of a Distant Star, Place Promised in our Early Days, 5cm Per Second and Neko no Shuukai, in that order). This time the anchor point for my scattered thoughts was a truly stellar AMV (link after the jump).
I’m not dead, I was rewatching Darker than Black
If there’s one thing I love about Darker than Black it’s the ‘rewatchability’: the sense that it’s more rewarding the second time around. The fact that the dramatic and comedic moments still hit the spot are proof of its quality but when there’s so much to think about that you can’t catch it all on the first sitting, you have to admit that it’s damn well-written.
Because it’s Caturday
I can’t help but attribute this mostly to the director Tensai Okamura. The show benefits greatly from an art department who whipped up such a cool film noir atmosphere and the nuances in the dialogue suggest that there were some gifted script- and screenplay writers on board too; nevertheless the sensibilities and devices that have made previous works of his so enjoyable are very much in evidence here.
And here’s to friendship, I guess
I’ve not been exactly filled with an overwhelming urge to write anything lately. In all honesty I’ve not been watching much either. There’s something about the time of year that makes evenings slip past and leave me with no time to watch, read or write a thing before I have to get ready for the next day.
Maybe it’s a surprise that Kimi ni Todoke is one of the few shows I’m currently following: there isn’t much that’s compelling about it. It doesn’t scream “Watch me!” It’s shoujo, it’s derivative, it’s uneventful…the flipside being, it’s undemanding and easy to digest on a regular basis when my get-up-and-go has got up and left.
Fifty noughties animu speculation (second half)
While it was relatively easy to whittle it down to fifty the individual order was a last-minute hurried effort so don’t read too far beyond the general place they have relative to the others. I know certain names are cropping up a lot but that’s more to do with my admiration for certain directors and writers than studios and genre boundaries.
I hope the short descriptions speak for themselves; the awesomeness of the titles themselves certainly ought to. Before the word count becomes too excessive then, here’s the final ‘cut’…
Fifty Noughties animu speculation (first half)
Belated Christmas greetings and all the best for 2010! Things have been quiet of late, but I loved what Gaguri did recently and really ought to reply to that and Sasa’s version. I hate to sound like an episode of Q.I. but the decade actually ends, strictly speaking, at the end of 2010. Not that it matters: I was worried about having actually watched enough to reach the Festive Fifty, but the reality turned into some tricky decision into what I had to leave out.
For the sake of simplicity the likes of Trapeze, Bakemonogatari, K-On!, Ergo Proxy, Mouryou no Hako, Texhnolyze, Shikabane Hime, Gurren Lagann, NieA_7, Detroit Metal City, Code Geass, Planetes and Beck didn’t make the list, as much as I like them. Some titles had to go, and “I haven’t finished it yet,” seemed to be a fair enough reason. On with 50-26.
Kara no Kyoukai: Satsujin Kousatsu (part 2)
I found myself staring dumbly at a blank screen for quite some time before being able to type a single word about this film. My feelings mirrored the closing phrase of Takami’s Battle Royale, “…but of course they’re part of you now.” I followed the characters through thick and thin; I felt stunned, drained and somewhat overwhelmed. Rewatching the series in its entirety didn’t lead me to believe this instalment is flawless but I was able to view it as the final(?) component part of the greater whole.
Not many of the scenes were brightly-lit enough to give decent screencaps
I believe it’s unfair to judge the Kara no Kyoukai adaptations against the other Type Moon productions when its source material pre-dates them all, but the fact remains that in terms of storytelling, presentation and character dynamics it’s a classic in the making. I’m not using that term lightly either: I’m choosing my words carefully here, even though I’m using so bloody many.
Categories: On screen
Tags: Anime, feature film, Kara no Kyoukai, nasuverse, serious business, win
5 Comments