Mono no aware

As my old laptop undergoes a slow and inexorable descent into ruin (image a geriatric getting slower, creakier and clumsier with increasingly serious memory problems before the ever-nearing collapse) I’m finding less and less that’s in standard def and therefore playable. Not to mention playing catch-up on a lot of old shows and recent weeks being busy with Real Life things. My watchlist has grown shorter and things are settling down with plans for putting a new PC together in the next couple of months so I feel ready to watch more again. Recommendations here plz.

It’s a bummer when some minor flaw draws attention to itself and throws obstacles in the way of enjoying an otherwise quality experience. I recall how viewers couldn’t stop talking about the characters’ noses in Escaflowne: considering how it juggles a variety of themes, aesthetics and plot devices and appeals to an audience of both genders and a broad age range, its achievement should never be clouded by an insignificant stylistic quirk.

This balancing act of bringing totally separate ideas into the same narrative stewing pot and getting them to work together without any one detracting from the others trips up even the best writers and directors, making the first half of Escaflowne that I’ve seen so far even more impressive in my eyes. Which brings me to Higashi no Eden, a show that also tries to sit some ambitious and disparate ideas side-by-side; the consequences of which can be more serious than a ski-jump hooter.

There’s always a daunting amount of opinion and chatter revolving around the latest season of new shows but I think Higashi no Eden is one of those rare cases where I feel comfortable in being swept along with the hype. Political thrillers aren’t common in anime after all, nor is the decision to feature characters out of high school; both of which give me just cause to raise my hopes and call it a refreshing change. In short it feels like something I can be forgiven for getting all excited about.

Saki is adorable. Official

I still have a nagging fear in the back of my mind that I’m being over-optimistic in that if it squanders its relatively short episode run I’m going to feel unbelievably cheated. Right now my main worry is that it has a fascinating background but there may not be time to addess it properly: I like the premise, the pacing is so far spot-on and the character dynamics are top-notch so would hate to see it rushed or get bogged down. There’s a feature film in the pipeline though so maybe (hopefully) it’ll provide a sequel, prequel or side-story to what’s going on here if there is indeed too much for the TV episodes to address.