Tag Archives: nasuverse

Fate/Zero? I’ll drink to that

Posted on by
4

After my review of Fate/Zero‘s opening episodes over at UK-A I was a bit shocked at how opinion on Google+ was so critical of the storytelling approach, to the point where I felt I was in the minority who didn’t mind it. I know it doesn’t appeal to everyone: squinting at reams of subtitled dialogue in an infodump opener and wading through thick waves of exposition from that point on isn’t everyone’s grail of mead, but still.

It’s just that this is closer to how I’d imagine a Nasu adaptation to be (yes, I know Urobuchi did the legwork) so quite frankly the idiosyncracies go with the territory. Introducing a cast of this size, especially considering the relationships and connections involved, was never going to be a painless exercise for the viewer, in any case.

Read all...

Reading stats: 1368 words, 7 images; estimated reading time 5:28 mins

Yukikaze, Unlimited Blade Works and playing to the strengths of the medium

Posted on by
3

Maybe I’m stating the glaringly obvious here, but since it wasn’t obvious to me until recently I might as well set out my thoughts on it. I’m not saying that the Unlimited Blade Works is a great movie but it’s worth stopping to think about the broader context or what the movie itself is trying to accomplish. Similarly, there are a few things I could say about the Yukikaze OAV but now I’ve read the original novel I feel a bit different about it. Feelings concerning the motives behind, and effects of, adapting stories from one medium to another mostly.


Click for full size

An extreme example of the importance of context that I stumbled on is William Gibson’s Neuromancer. It’s an enjoyable enough cyberpunk novel but not as enjoyable for me as I expected: I’m finding it tedious in places but when I remind myself that it was written before any of that stuff related to the internet, VR and even the cyberpunk genre itself were commonplace, I admire it more. Not that it makes the book itself more fun, but it makes its limitations at least understandable.

Read all...

Reading stats: 1403 words, 3 images; estimated reading time 5:37 mins

I want to know where this road goes

Posted on by
1

Something very important was supposed to happen this week: Mahou Tsukai no Yoru would’ve finally seen its official public release. Sadly it’s been postponed to “sometime this winter” and of course there’s no telling if and when an English language version will follow (fanslated or otherwise). Even so, I shouldn’t be the only one who’s looking forward to it and I’m dead certain it’ll be worth the wait.

After all, it’s effectively fourteen years in the making so what’s a couple of months’ delay in the grand scheme of things? This is for me the ‘missing link’ that fills out a large part of the background that I’ve wondered about for so long; it’ll go right back to early lives of the Aozaki sisters, specifically concentrating on Aoko. She’s so far been given little coverage in the Type Moon works: she made an appearance during the opening scenes of Tsukihime but apart from that, we fans know precious little about her.

Read all...

Reading stats: 684 words, 2 images; estimated reading time 2:44 mins

On wartime anime and re-watchability

Posted on by
9

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.

Read all...

Reading stats: 1183 words, 3 images; estimated reading time 4:44 mins

Kara no Kyoukai: Satsujin Kousatsu (part 2)

Posted on by
5

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.

Read all...

Reading stats: 1759 words, 6 images; estimated reading time 7:02 mins

Tsukihime, far side route: here’s to Akiha

Posted on by
9

Looking at the screencaps I took while reading my way through Tsukihime it struck me how many of them featured Akiha. As a general rule I screencapped whenever I felt a given moment was especially important to the story so the folder of pics that’s sat on my hard drive since I finished the VN really helped jog my favourite memories of it. I don’t want to downplay the significance of the other two leading ladies in this of course: Hisui and Kohaku have well-written backstories that build on the unfolding of the scenario as a whole which, by the way, explains a hell of a lot that the TV show didn’t.

akiha-is-awesome
Disarmed me with a smile

There’s also an avenue which left me a little frustrated: Yumizuka was another fascinating character who, in my opinion at least, is crying out for a side-story of her own. Whether the rumoured re-release of Tsukihime will resolve that I don’t know; it certainly continued to give a ‘one rewrite away from brilliance’ feeling because the emotional clout of the story was stretched too thin: after all those replays I found myself wondering if I was able to care about all of them enough. Forgive me then if this post very much about Akiha.

Read all...

Reading stats: 1082 words, 4 images; estimated reading time 4:20 mins

Kara no Kyoukai #6: Boukyaku Rokuon (Oblivion Recording)

Posted on by
6

I must admit that the premise of this outing didn’t fill me with as much enthusiasm as some of the earlier ones. It sounded like the story was shying away from the hard-edged grittiness that I’ve come to respect so much in the series, what with it being about something as light-hearted as Mikiya’s kid sister Azaka looking for fairies at school. Sure enough, the general tone of this movie is a lot brighter, more humorous and is mostly concerned with Azaka and her personal perpective on things rather than putting Shiki in centre stage.

knk-6-azaka-likes-fire

What pleasantly surprised me though was that this relative levity and the shift in character focus offered so much to enjoy on their own. Azaka has always been a bit, well, overprotective of her elder brother but this is where she is given the opportunity to explain why as best she can. The mystery thriller side of things is still present, of course, but it’s more character- rather than plot-driven. With a some FIRE to spice it up a bit.

Read all...

Reading stats: 1132 words, 6 images; estimated reading time 4:32 mins

Kara no Kyoukai #5: Mujun Rasen (paradox spiral)

Posted on by
8

Of the five Kara no Kyoukai instalments on the fansub circuit the most recent, Mujun Rasen (a.k.a. Paradox Spiral), has been the one that fans have made the biggest fuss over. It’s certainly the longest: clocking in at a full two hours it uses this time to weave a convoluted and disorientating story that keeps the viewer on their toes from the first moment to the last. No wonder really that so many cite it as their favourite so far – it’s the most confusing and shocking but it’s a headfuck in the best possible kind of way.

location-location-location
Be honest now. would YOU live there?!

The editing and scene compositions, in addition to the tense atmospherics and poetic dialogue that have already made the series memorable for me, are particularly outstanding. I don’t want to over-emphasise a certain point I made a while back but even next to the previous four this one comes across as particularly cinematic and sophisticated. It takes longer to set out its intentions and see them through, throws out more intertwining story threads and also has a brazen desire to play mind games with the viewer on a scale that Satoshi Kon would be proud of.

Read all...

Reading stats: 1244 words, 6 images; estimated reading time 4:59 mins

Kara no Kyoukai #4: Garan no Dou (the hollow shrine)

Posted on by
3

Nope, I’ve not yet seen the notoriously popular episode #5. It’s on my hard drive but at a full two hours I’m saving it for the plane (which is twelve hours in total 0_o). The fourth movie, Garan no Dou, is the shortest of the lot so doesn’t offer as much to get excited about as I expect the fifth one to do but even so, there are some interesting developments going on that pick up where the second film left off, among other things. Until the English-langage translation of the original novels gets past the rumours stage I guess this will have to do.

kara-no-kyoukai-hollow-shrine-1

I’m beginning to see why Shiki Ryougi is one of Takeuchi’s most loved creations. She isn’t a character who exudes the typical bishoujo femininity: she’s sullen and introverted, flattens her bust down with bandages and wears a leather jacket incongruously over her kimono, and is the opposite of clumsy…oh yeah, she also goes on the occasional homicidal rampage. Despite all this making her the anti-moe she has legions of loyal fans. And I’m one of them.

Read all...

Reading stats: 1010 words, 4 images; estimated reading time 4:02 mins

Tsukihime, Near Side route (Arcueid and Ciel)

Posted on by
7

The first route of Tsukihime focuses on the aspect of the story concerned with Arcueid’s battle against the True Ancestor Roa and the vampire Nrvnsqr Chaos, with poor old Shiki caught in the middle. I must confess Arcueid is my favourite character of the lot here – one of the two memorable heroines from the VN as a whole. What is it about female vampires like her that captures my attention? Maybe that goes without saying but she’s a brilliantly-written character whose playful yet self-assured personality and fascinating background make for a suspenseful and entertaining read.

arcueid-in-chains
My cup runneth over/like blood from a stone

Ciel’s part in the piece however is an example of the issue I had with Tsukihime‘s sprawling structure – perhaps the reason why it’s being given the re-release treatment sometime in the future is because the current version feels one re-write away from the level of quality that Fate/Stay Night spoiled me with. In my opinion Arcueid is a fantastic heroine for the story but Ciel was better suited to a prominent supporting role; the Arcueid part of the route had a much more convincing chemistry between the heroine and protagonist while the Ciel aspect was more rewarding in the exposition department.

Read all...

Reading stats: 1112 words, 4 images; estimated reading time 4:27 mins