Anime

Read or Die

I asked for recommendations a while back, and one of the recommendations was a series called Read or Die. The series was universally hailed as being stupid, but some people thought it was a “fun” stupid and enjoyable nonetheless. While I do believe they’re right, I also wish they would have fleshed out some of their ideas a little more. I only watched the OVA (which is only 3 episodes) and not the TV series, so I guess it’s possible that the TV series goes into more detail, but the OVA seemed a little rushed and cramped. At its core, there’s a pretty good story here though, and I did enjoy it.

The premise is that a Special Operations Division of the British Library employs various librarians with superpowers who fight book-related crime. It’s actually a neat sorta mixture of James Bond, super heroes, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and… books. Anyway, the story details a particular incident in which clones of major historical figures threaten to wipe out civilization. The details of how these clones were created, who they are, and why they want to destroy the world are glossed over a bit, but that’s because the story focuses more on the relationship between Yomiko Readman (aka Agent Paper, who has the power to manipulate paper – which is more useful than it sounds: she can stop bullets, shoot paper projectiles, among other improbable but clever uses (more on this below)) and Nancy Makuhari (aka Miss Deep, who can make herself intangible and pass through matter – walking through walls and whatnot). It’s reasonably involving, though again it feels a little rushed.

Behold, I can move paper!

So yes, it’s silly, and there’s lots of Huh? moments that even the most unflappable viewer will think are odd. Still, there’s a certain charm to the flight of fancy that underlies the series. Its the same sort of feeling I get when seeing steam-punk technology (which actually features significantly in this series as well, so it makes sense). After an initial confused reaction, I generally found myself amused at these episodes, such as when Yomiko creates a paper airplane so that she can chase after one of the villains (who’s flying a jet):

A paper airplane!

Yeah, it’s absurd, but it’s fun, and the action sequences are actually well staged and quite entertaining. As previously mentioned, the writers did a good job coming up with clever ways to use paper as a weapon or shield or whatever. Most of the villains don’t have much of a back story, and their powers are sometimes a little over-the-top, but that ends up being fine.

Hi, I'm a villain.

The animation is pretty good and the music is fantastic (it’s got a very Bond-esque feel to it). Overall, it’s entertaining and fluffy, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’d like to have seen some of the villains and the story fleshed out a bit more, but that’s surprisingly not much of an issue. It’s just good old fashioned mindless fun (which was actually good, considering my busy schedule of late). Thanks to Roy and Wonderduck for the recommendation. As usual, more screenshots and comments below the fold.

Vandread: Second Stage

I finished Vandread: Second Stage last week, but I was so busy this week that I haven’t had time to post any thoughts until now. As with the first series, I found myself quite pleased with this series. It’s more or less the continuation and conclusion to the first series, so this is isn’t too surprising. Potential spoilers ahead…

Pirates!

The men and women aboard the pirate ship Nirvana have learned to work well together and get past their cultural differences. This is a good thing because the enemy they face seems to be quite adaptable, raising the bar during each battle. We learn a lot about the enemy in this series, but it basically boils down to this: after initial colonists left from Earth, the planet suffered some sort of meltdown and the people of Earth could no longer reproduce. The Earthlings became jaded and twisted, consumed by hate and fear, eventually constructing a robotic fleet that would go after the colonists, harvesting their organs so that the Earthlings could continue to live. (I don’t know how much of this will make sense if you haven’t seen the series, but it would take too long to go through the entire story…)

The revelations are meted out at a reasonable pace and are mixed with various character development arcs that make up the series’ emotional core. Interestingly, the single most important character in the first series turns out to be something I barely noticed in the first series: the Paksis.

The Paksis

The Paksis, it’s alive!

The Paksis is the power plant of the Nirvana – it’s also apparently a living, sentient being. The Paksis was discovered on Earth as the colonists were beginning to expand into the galaxy. It’s unique properties made it ideal for an energy source, and so it was split into two: one remained on earth, the other was sent out with the colonists (eventually ending up on the Nirvana). The red Paksis has suffered as the people of Earth enslaved it to construct and power their harvester fleet, while the blue Paksis went on as part of the colonists’ fleet.

The Paksis is behind a lot of the confusing things that happen in the series – it’s the driving force behind the way ships combine and evolve, and it’s also got a self-preservation instinct that opened a wormhole and sent them light-years away in the first series. During many of the battles, the enemy shows the ability to adapt and evolve, mimicking many of the powers of our heroes. This lead to lots of questions until I realized that the Earthlings were simply using their Paksis to copy the fighting machines and tactics that were created by Nirvana’s crew. Steven Den Beste wrote about this a while back, using the Japanese word kiai (which essentially means “fighting spirit”) as a starting point:

All through the series the four primary characters seem to have an unreasonably fast learning curve regarding the abilities of the various versions of Vandreads as they appear, becoming adept at using them in just a few seconds. It’s not clear that the controls really matter, in fact. When they’re sufficiently motivated, the machine does what they need it to do pretty much no matter what control they use.

And afterwards they’re all weary, though Hibiki is usually the worst off in that regard. It’s because he’s been using his ki to make the machines run — because they’re not really machines.

What’s even more interesting is the cases where a character manages to raise their ki and when they do so it directly causes changes of some kind before our eyes. In Vandread it’s all about the Paksis; what they’re doing is to somehow link to the Paksis, which uses its mysterious powers to create what is needed. It isn’t necessarily a conscious need, of course. Hibiki does this more than anyone, and Meia/Dita/Jura do it to some extent, but Bart also does it once, in episode 16. (That is, the third episode of the second series.) Bart attains a sufficiently high emotional state that he is able to reach the Paksis, and as a result the Nirvana is changed to create banks of missile launchers.

Bart didn’t do that deliberately. But in the emotional state he was in at the time he didn’t question it. He was able to fully control them immediately. They did exactly what he expected them to do and needed them to do, even to where they struck only enemies and dodged around friends.

In essence, the entire series could be seen as a struggle between the red and blue Paksis, and the way the blue Paksis draws on the power of it’s crew leads to a lot of interesting character dynamics. As with the first series, there are several interesting character arcs here. One is the aformentioned arc with Bart, who becomes attached to sick little girl and is thus able to achieve an emotional state that allows him to interface with the Paksis (in order to protect the girl). It’s a fantastic episode, and it features a great reveal at the end:

Bart's new haircut

Bart’s new haircut

Hibiki continues to grow, as does his relationship with Dita, and it turns out that Hibiki plays a surprisingly important role in unifying the opposition to Earth’s harvester fleet. Oh, and speaking of surprises, there’s a big one towards the end. Some hints were dropped, but I doubt anyone saw it coming (indeed, at first, I was really confused by what happened).

All in all, the story progressed well and most of the unanswered questions were resolved. We get more background on Earth, we get more detail on why Tarak and Mejale are segregated by sex (though I’m still not totally clear on that one), and of course we find out a lot more about many of the characters. There were some nitpicks and open questions, but nothing major. For instance, what was the deal with Gascogne’s return? I was happy to see her come back and all, but a little baffled as to how she managed to do so… it seemed extraneous and unnecessary to me. Also, the battles with Earth’s forces got a little repetitive, but you’d expect that in a series where our heroes engage the enemy in every episode. However, as I noted in my review of the first series, nitpicks don’t seem to bother me with this series.

In the end, it’s a solid series, and pretty much exactly what I was looking for. By the end, I was sad to see the characters go, but pleased that there was some sort of closure to the story that made sense. Thanks again to Steven for the recommendation.

As usual, more screens and comments below the fold…

Vandread

As requested, a review of Vandread. I finished the first series this week, and I must say that I’m quite pleased (this is in line with my initial thoughts). The first series doesn’t answer all the questions that were raised and the story isn’t complete, but it answers some and provides a great, satisfying finale. It’s a big, spectacular battle sequence, but the reason it’s satisfying has little to do with the action (though that’s fun too).

It occurrs to me that I haven’t actually described the story much yet. Sometime in the future, men and women seem to have segregated themselves on separate planets, and for three generations, a war has been waged between the sexes (apparently, in this future, technology provides a means to reproduce which does not require interaction between the sexes). It’s a little unclear why this rift exists, but it does, and it is exacerbated by propaganda depicting the opposite gender as monsters or worse. Hibiki is a mechanic that works on Vanguards (giant fighting robots or mechas), and as part of a dare, he attempts to steal one off a ship that is launching. Of course, he gets stuck on the ship, which is promptly attacked by women pirates. During the course of the battle, the ship takes moderate damage, but its core power generator has some rather nifty automatic repair mechanisms that sorta run haywire, merging the men’s ship with the women’s ship and transporting them far away. Hibiki and two other men are stuck on the ship with a bunch of women, and to make matters even worse, they seem to have stumbled into a new, unknown enemy that attacks on sight. Who are these new enemies, where do they come from, and what do they want? And can the three men work hand in hand with women to defeat this mysterious foe?

Nirvana

The male & female ships are merged into this ship, dubbed Nirvana

In general, the series has a lot of action, but the focus is pretty squarely on the characters. There are a few standouts who get the majority of attention, but many of the side characters are also interesting and likeable. The main characters are Hibiki and Dita (one of the female pirates), and their relationship has grown pretty steadily throughout the series to a point where they’re both acknowledging that they kinda like each other. Hibiki has had the clearest character arc so far and I think the ending of the first series is satisfying because of the way Hibiki handles the final battle. The story of the series doesn’t end, but Hibiki has definitely changed, and for the better. He was a bit of an annoying loudmouth at the beginning of the series, but he has grown, and it’s been handled well. Again, many of the characters are likeable (though not all – I’m not a huge fan of Jura or Barnette, but that’s only a minor beef, and I’m pretty sure they capture what the writers were going for anyway), and there are many little subplots and relationships that are entertaining and fun. My favorite subplot was the Christmas episode. I’m a total sucker for Christmas stories, and I absolutely loved that episode. (Screenshots and more comments on this subplot below the fold.) I’m guessing that some of these characters will be fleshed out a little more in the Second Stage (the stoic male doctor Duero and the female engineer Parfet will continue to flirt, Bart might actually become something of a leader and maybe get with BC, and Meia, well, I’m not sure what she’s up to, but I think she’s an interesting character.)

Bart and BC

Bart & BC share a moment

The animation is pretty and the action sequences are well executed. I mostly watched the series with dubbing on, though I took a gander at the subtitles as well (as I’ve noted before, I’m interested in the differences between translations, and will still occassionally watch a series with english dubbing and subtitles on at the same time). I haven’t settled on which is better in general, but the dubbing on this series wasn’t bad at all, so I ended up sticking with that for most of the series. The translation seems a bit funny at times (dialogue that is supposed to be witty banter or sound inspirational sometimes fall a little flat), but the general idea always gets through. The music is serviceable, but not great (I’m just spoiled by Yoko Kanno, I think). All in all though, it seems to be pretty well produced.

The story still has a fair share of open questions, but again it seems to be progressing nicely and I’m looking forward to watching the Second Stage. The series is clearly episodic with an overarching story underlying everything. This works well, as the episodic content allows the writers to develop the relationships between the characters. Lots of jokes are made exploring the differences between the two sexes, and it’s quite fun. The ending of this first series was great, though I can’t imagine getting that far and not wanting to watch Second Stage. The series was pretty much exactly what I expected, and it seems like it’s got a lot of the steriotypical Anime tropes, right down to the way the characters (i.e. faces, hair, clothes) are animated. Everything looks somewhat familiar, but not (I could swear I’ve seen half of these people before). For a beginner like myself, this definitely isn’t a bad thing, and it seems like a pretty good gateway drug. There are some aspects of the plot that might seem strange upon closer inspection, but I don’t seem to be getting hung up on nitpicks or anything. It’s funny, but corny stuff that might normally bother me doesn’t seem to be doing so with this series…

Again, I’m very much looking forward to the conclusion of the story, which I assume happens in the Second Stage. Thanks again to Steven for the recommendation… this is just about exactly what I was looking for.

More screenshots & commentary below the fold…

Vandread: Initial Thoughts

So I’ve seen the first 8 episodes of Vandread, and I should be finishing the first series early this week. So far, it’s pretty good. I’m holding off on pronouncing any final verdict until I reach the end, but I have to admit that I’m enjoying myself so far and I’m kinda looking forward to a long-term story that has an actual ending.

American TV has recently experienced an explosion of the sprawling, multi-season story. This has been bolstered by the emergence of the TV DVD market, which makes it possible to catch up with a series really quickly. The problem is that I honestly think this Writers of Lost parody is a fairly accurate representation of what goes on in the writing office for some of these series. I gave up on Lost after watching the first season on DVD and I won’t watch another episode until someone tells me there’s a definite ending and that it’s a good ending that actually makes sense. I actually enjoyed watching the first batch of Heroes episodes, but I get that same sorta feeling that the writers are just screwing around and making it up as they go along. As Dalton Ross writes in a recent editorial in Entertainment Weekly, “As much as I love all the drawn-out mysteries and soap opera shenanigans, there’s something I crave even more — closure.”

This is one of the things about Anime that really appeals to me. I’m sure there are a bunch of ongoing series, but it seems like a lot of the series have definite ends, and thus have good, long yet concise character arcs, etc…

Vandread has its share of mysteries and open questions (especially in the first couple of episodes), but the series has progressed nicely, and I’m looking forward to the ending. Indeed, I already put Vandread: Second Stage in my Netflix queue. If the ending of the first series stinks, I can always remove it, but I don’t anticipate any major issues.

As usual, I’m noticing little bits and pieces of culture that I’m not familiar with. For instance, when Dita first encounters Hibiki, she makes some sort of greeting gesture with her hand (I added screenshots in the extended entry below). Dita appears to be a UFO nut, so maybe that gesture is some sort of universal greeting or something (like the lights and tones at the end of Close Encounters). Hibiki returns the gesture (further supporting the universal greeting theory), and then promptly runs away. Did I mention that in the Vandread universe, men and women have segregated themselves to different planets and are pretty much at war with one another? I thought this was a little strange, but it makes for some interesting dynamics (and I’m sure it will play a role in the progression of the series).

Dita chases Hibiki

More screenshots & comments in the extended entry below…

Mental Inertia

As I waded through dozens of recommendations for Anime series (thanks again to everyone who contributed), I began to wonder about a few things. Anime seems to be a pretty vast subject and while I had touched the tip of the iceberg in the past, I really didn’t have a good feel for what was available. So I asked for recommendations, and now I’m on my way. But it’s not like I just realized that I wanted to watch more Anime. I’ve wanted to do that for a little while, but I’ve only recently acted on it. What took so long? Why is it so hard to get started?

This isn’t something that’s limited to deciding what to watch either. I find that just getting started is often the most difficult part of a task (or, at least, the part I seem to get stuck on the most). Sometimes it’s difficult to deal with the novelty of a thing, other times a project seems completely overwhelming. But after I’ve begun, things don’t seem so novel or overwhelming anymore. I occasionally find myself hesitant to start a new book or load up a new video game, but once I do, things flow pretty easily (unless the book or game is a really bad one). I have a bunch of ideas for blog posts that I never get around to attacking, but usually once I start writing, ideas flow much more readily. At work, I’ll sometimes find myself struggling to get started on a task, but once I get past that initial push, I’m fine. Sure, there are excuses for all of these (interruptions, email, and meetings, for instance), but while they are sometimes true obstacles, they often strike me as rationalizations. Just getting started is the problem, but once I get into the flow, it’s easy to keep going.

Joel Spolsky wrote an excellent essay on the subject called Fire and Motion:

Many of my days go like this: (1) get into work (2) check email, read the web, etc. (3) decide that I might as well have lunch before getting to work (4) get back from lunch (5) check email, read the web, etc. (6) finally decide that I’ve got to get started (7) check email, read the web, etc. (8) decide again that I really have to get started (9) launch the damn editor and (10) write code nonstop until I don’t realize that it’s already 7:30 pm.

Somewhere between step 8 and step 9 there seems to be a bug, because I can’t always make it across that chasm.For me, just getting started is the only hard thing. An object at rest tends to remain at rest. There’s something incredible heavy in my brain that is extremely hard to get up to speed, but once it’s rolling at full speed, it takes no effort to keep it going.

It’s an excellent point, and there does seem to be some sort of mental inertia at work here. But why? Why is it so difficult to get started?

When I think about this, I realize that this is a relatively new phenomenon for me. I don’t remember having this sort of difficulty ten years ago. What’s different? Well, I’m ten years older. The conventional wisdom is that it becomes more difficult to learn new things (i.e. to start something new) as you get older. There is some supporting evidence having to do with how the human brain becomes less malleable with time, but I’m not sure that paints the full picture. I think a big part of the problem is that as I got older, my standards rose.

Let me back up for a moment. A few years ago, a friend attempted to teach me how to drive a stick. I’d driven a automatic transmission my whole life up until that point, so the process of learning a manual transmission proved to be a challenging one. The actual mechanics of it are pretty straightforward and easily internalized. Sitting down and actually doing it, though, was another story. Intellectually, I knew what was going on, but it can be a little difficult to overcome muscle memory. I had a lot of trouble at first (and since I haven’t driven a stick since then, I’d probably still have a lot of trouble today) and got extremely frustrated. My friend (who had gone through the same thing herself) laughed at it, making my lack of success even more infuriating. Eventually she explained to me that it wasn’t that I was doing a bad job. It was that I was so used to being able to pick up something new and run with it, that when I had to do something extra challenging that took a little longer to pick up, I became frustrated. In short, I had higher standards for myself than I should have.

I think, perhaps, that’s why it’s difficult to start something new. It’s not that learning has become harder, it’s that I’ve become less tolerant of failure. My standards are higher, and that will sometimes make it hard to start something. This post, for example, has been brewing in my head for a while, but I had trouble getting started. This happens all the time, and I’ve actually got a bunch of ideas for posts stashed away somewhere. I’ve even written about this before, though only in a tangential way:

This weblog has come a long way over the three and a half years since I started it, and at this point, it barely resembles what it used to be. I started out somewhat slowly, just to get an understanding of what this blogging thing was and how to work it (remember, this was almost four years ago and blogs weren’t nearly as common as they are now), but I eventually worked up into posting about once a day, on average. At that time, a post consisted mainly of a link and maybe a summary or some short commentary. Then a funny thing happened, I noticed that my blog was identical to any number of other blogs, and thus wasn’t very compelling. So I got serious about it, and started really seeking out new and unusual things. I tried to shift focus away from the beaten path and started to make more substantial contributions. I think I did well at this, but it couldn’t really last. It was difficult to find the offbeat stuff, even as I poured through massive quantities of blogs, articles and other information (which caused problems of it’s own). I slowed down, eventually falling into an extremely irregular posting schedule on the order of once a month, which I have since attempted to correct, with, I hope, some success. I recently noticed that I have been slumping somewhat, though I’m still technically keeping to my schedule.

Part of the reason I was slumping back then was that my standards were rising again. The problem is that I want what I write to turn out good, and my standards are high (relatively speaking – this is only a blog, after all). So when I sit down to write, I wonder if I’ll actually be able to do the subject justice. At a certain point, though, you just have to pull the trigger and get started. The rest comes naturally. Is this post better than I had imagined? Probably not, but then, if I waited until it was perfect, I’d never post anything (and plus, that sorta defeats the purpose of blogging).

One of the things I’ve noticed since changing my schedule to post at least twice a week is that it forces me to lower my standards a bit, just so that I can get something out on time. Back when I started the one post a week schedule, I found that those posts were getting pretty long. I thought they were pretty good too, but as time went on, I wasn’t able to keep up with my rising expectations. There’s nothing inherently wrong with high expectations, but I’ve found it’s good every now and again to adjust course. Even a well made clock drifts and must be calibrated from time to time, and so we must calibrate ourselves from time to time as well.

Update 3.15.07: It occurs to me that this post is overly-serious and may give you the wrong idea. In the comments, Pete notes that watching Anime is supposed to be fun. I agree wholeheartedly, and I didn’t mean to imply differently. The same goes for blogging – I wrote a decent amount in this post about how blogging is difficult for me, but that’s not really the right way to put it. I enjoy blogging too, that’s why I do it. Sometimes I overthink things, and that’s probably what I was doing in this post, but I think the main point holds. Learning can be impaired by high standards.

Anime

In case you can’t tell, I like movies. A lot. I’ll watch just about anything, and indeed, I’ve spent a fair amount of time seeking out the strange and offbeat films that most of my friends have never heard of. When it comes to this sort of thing, I tend to go into phases. Hong Kong Action, Italian Horror, and Japanese Yakuza films (among many other genres) have captured my attention for a time. As such, it shouldn’t be surprising that I’ve seen my fair share of Japanese animation. For the most part, my exposure has been limited to films, but I’ve seen a few series as well.

Now, I’ve consumed enough anime, and I read enough blogs in the Otakusphere, to know what I’m getting into here. I recently played along with the Filmspotting podcast’s Animation Marathon, which contained a bunch of anime films (several of which I’d already seen, but welcomed the chance to revisit). The marathon is over, but I feel like I’m just getting started. The only problem is that I’m not sure where to go from here. So, in an attempt to figure this out, I’m going to list out what I’ve seen, what I’m looking for, and some series I know about but haven’t seen yet. If you have any recommendations, feel free to drop a comment, but I’ve been cautioned to take recommendations with a grain of salt (which you kinda have to do for anything subjective like this).

What I’ve seen: (in rough chronological order)

  • Akira: My first forray into anime (unless you count Voltron) was largely unappreciated by me, thanks mostly to a horrible translation and bad transfer. I basically thought it was an incoherent mess (and I stand by that, given the crappy VHS experience), but when I revisited it during the marathon, I saw the new translation and digital transfer and was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t love it, as the characters were annoying and generally unlikeable, but my opinion had greatly improved.
  • Ninja Scroll: At the recommendation of a friend, I rented this once. I have almost no recollection of this movie at all. I wanna say there was a scene on a boat at one point. I remember liking it, but not loving it.
  • Ghost in the Shell: I enjoyed this movie the first time I saw it, but I have to admit that it was a little out of my teenage self’s league. I have since seen it several times and have grown to appreciate some of the challenging and thought provoking questions it raises.
  • Princess Mononoke: I distinctly remember watching a documentary on animation sometime around 1998 and seeing some clips from this movie and being awestruck. When it was finally released in the states, I jumped at the chance to see it and absolutely loved it. It’s a fantastic film… yet, I have to admit that I haven’t seen it since then and many of the details escape me. This is probably worth revisiting at some point.
  • Spirited Away: As much as I liked Princess Mononoke, this movie topped it, and when I learned that it was the same filmmaker, I was somewhat astounded. I rented it because it had won an Oscar, not because I knew it was from the makers of Princess Mononoke. It’s a great film, and I gave it the best film award in the animation marathon.
  • Haibane Renmei: There was a bit of a gap between Spirited Away and this series (which happens to be my first actual anime series), and I hold Haibane Renmei responsible for my more recent interest in Anime. I checked it out because of the enthusiastic recommendations of Steven Den Beste, and, well, just about everybody else who has ever mentioned it. Put simply, this series is superb. Some have claimed that it’s almost too good, and that everything else that follows will be a letdown. This might be true, but I’ve had about a year to cool off, and I think I should be fine:P
  • Cowboy Bebop: The Movie: I cought this on Comcast OnDemand, and thought it was great. Unlike most of what I’d seen before, this was just good, clean action-packed fun. The music was so great I went out and bought a bunch of soundtrack CDs and listen to them often. As far as anime gateway drugs go, I’d think this would be a good choice (right behind Miyazaki films, natch).
  • Serial Experiments Lain: This was my next series, and boy was it a doozy. I’d heard good things and the technological themes appealed to me, so I netflixed it. At this point, I’m still not sure what the heck it’s all about. As I mention in the linked post from the Kaedrin Forum, I think it’s perhaps a little too obtuse and deliberate, but also quite good. Once I figured out the “unreliable narration” angle, a lot of things clicked into place, but I need to watch the series again sometime to really work things out.
  • Grave of the Fireflies: One of the few movies in the animation marathon I’d never seen before, and, well, it’s great, but I’m pretty traumatized by this. Since this was the last new thing I’ve seen, I think my next movie/series should be something a little more upbeat. Please.
  • Miscellaneous Stuff: I’ve seen a handful of episodes from a bunch of series on Adult Swim, but this is far from ideal. I’ve seen a few episodes of Inuyasha, Fullmetal Alchemist, Witch Hunter Robin and a bunch of other series. For the most part, this stuff just went over my head, probably because I was jumping into the middle of various series, and so I never really got into anything there. I vaguely remember watching Vampire Hunter D a long time ago, but remember very little about it (I also remember watching some othe vampire hunter anime show, but again, don’t remember much). I remember attempting to watch some Mecha related anime movie on cable. For the most part, it didn’t make sense and I never finished it (don’t even remember the name). I watched Steamboy and was blown away with the visuals, even if I had totally lost interest by the end of the movie (same issues here as with Akira, which makes sense because it’s made by the same people). I also recently went back and filled in most of Miyazaki’s catalog, though there are still a few films I’ve yet to see. They’re all great, though I don’t think any approaches Spirited Away (Howl’s Moving Castle was awesome until about 2/3 of the way through, at which point it began to unravel).

That’s pretty much it. I’m sure I missed a few things here or there, but that should give you a rough idea where I’m at and what I think of the genre. Overall, it’s actually been pretty good to me, and there aren’t many movies/shows I disliked. However, at this point, I’m not really sure where to go next.

What I’m looking for: For the next series I watch, I’m going to impose a few somewhat strict guidelines. I want to watch a series, but not something too long. I don’t want to have to wade through 18 DVDs or anything absurd like that. A 13 or 26 episode series would be fine. At some point, I’m sure I’ll move on to longer series, but for now, let’s keep it relatively short. Sort of related, I’d like the story to be complete (or at least, the arc should be complete). I don’t want to have to wait for new DVDs to come out before I can finish the series! I’d like something that has a good story arc (i.e. a character or plot based narrative), and preferably one that doesn’t have a downer ending (I’ve had my fill with Grave of the Fireflies, thank you). I’m also looking for something that’s a little more action-packed and fun than what I’ve been watching recently (i.e. not something like Serial Experiments Lain). I don’t mind kid’s shows, but that’s not exactly what I’m looking for (I’m flexible on this one though). All recommendations are welcome, as I’ll certainly need something after this… but this is what I’m looking for at the moment. Oh, one last requirement, the series needs to be available on Netflix.

What I’m currently considering: I seem to have fallen into reading a significant portion of the Otakusphere (SDB, Fledge, Shamus, Pixy, Alex, Pete, and a couple of others), and even if I have no idea what they’re talking about most of the time, I’ll occasionally notice a title here or there, so I have some ideas as to what could come next. Two pages I’ve been referring to while writing this post are Steven’s reviews and Steve Yegge’s Anime post. Unfortunately, I’ve already had to nix a couple of series, but I haven’t looked real hard at most of these.

  • Cowboy Bebop: When I think about what I want for my next series, I keep thinking about the Cowboy Bebop movie. That’s exactly what I’m looking for, so you’d think this series would be a perfect fit. However, my understanding is that it has something of a downer ending. I’ll definitely be watching this series, and probably sooner rather than later, but not next.
  • Martian Successor Nadesico: I seem to recall hearing that this was an excellent series to start with, however, it sorta fails the Netflix test: disc 5 is not available (the other discs are). The series is apparently out of print, and apparently Netflix’s copy of disc 5 took a beating. This is most frustrating, as this sounds exactly like what I want. I might check to see if I can download the episodes on disc 5 and netflix the rest, but that just seems like a hassle. It sounds like a blast though, and I’d really like to check this one out.
  • Noir: I considered this because it sounds really interesting… unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to fit what I’m looking for right now. However, I am intrigued and will most likely watch this at some point.
  • Angelic Layer: Sounds interesting, but I need to look into it more.
  • Twelve Kingdoms: Based mostly on Steve Yegge’s enthusiastic recommendation. A quick quote from his post which has broad applicability to anime and foreign movies in general:

    You know how little kids at a certain age like to watch the same movie over and over and over again, for up to a year, and child psychologists say that each time they see it they’re seeing it from a new perspective? Well, 12 Kingdoms was like that for us. There’s so much for a Westerner to take in. We missed a lot of it the first time around. It took at least 3 or 4 viewings before the patterns started taking shape in our minds.

    Cool stuff. Still, I need to look into this series a little more. SDB was a little frustrated because it wasn’t finished yet, but at this point, I think it has finished (but I’m not sure)

  • Last Exile: Another Steve Yegge recommendation, though I’ve heard this has a bit of a downer ending too (but I need to look into that).

Well, since I’m significantly past my midnight deadline, I figure this is as good a place as any to stop. At this point, I’m not at all sure what to get. Maybe I’m being too specific with my requirements… Let me know what you think. Again, all recommendations are welcome and I’ll probably consider a bunch more than are listed above… or maybe I’m overthinking this and will be bitten by the paradox of choice.

Japanese Cootie Shots

One of the things that interests me about foreign films is the way various aspects of culture become lost in the translation to English. In some cases, this is due to the literal translation of dialogue, but in others it’s due to a physical mannerism or custom that simply can’t be translated. In a post about Lain’s Bear Pajamas in the Anime series Serial Experiments Lain, I mention an example of such a gesture that appears in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. Of course, I got the details of the gesture completely wrong in that post, but the general concept is similar. Since Spirited Away is the next film in the Animation Marathon, I got the DVD and took some screenshots. The main character, a little girl named Chihiro, steps on a little black slug and the boiler room man, Kamaji, says that this is gross and will bring bad luck. So she turns around and puts her thumbs and forefingers together while he pushes his hand through (click the images for a larger version).

Chihiro

Chihiro

Chihiro

Now this is obviously some sort of gesture meant to counteract bad luck, but it’s a little strange. The dialogue in the scene helps, though the subtitles and the dubbing differ considerably (as I have been noticing lately). The subtitled version goes like this:

KAMAJI: Gross, gross, Sen! Totally gross!

(CHIHIRO puts her hands in the shape of a rectangle.)

KAMAJI (pushing his hand through the rectangle): Clean!

Quite sparse, though the meaning is relatively clear. The dubbed version expands on the concept a little more:

KAMAJI: You killed it! Those things are bad luck. Hurry, before it rubs off on you! Put your thumbs and forefingers together.

(CHIHIRO puts her hands in the shape of a rectangle.)

KAMAJI (pushing his hand through the rectangle): Evil… begone!

I noticed this gesture the first time I saw the movie, because I thought it was stange and figured that there had to be a little more to it than what was really being translated. On the DVD there is a little featurette called The Art of ‘Spirited Away’ and in one of the sections, the translators mention that they were baffled by the gesture, and weren’t sure how to translate it. After researching the issue, they concluded that it’s essentially the Japanese equivalent to a cootie shot. Of course, this makes a lot of sense, and it’s totally something a kid would do in response to stepping on something gross (this film, like many of Miyazaki’s other films, seems to nail a lot of the details of what it’s like to be a kid). It also illustrates that the boiler room man isn’t quite as gruff as he appears, and that he even has a bit of a soft spot for children. Interestingly enough, this gesture is repeated again by a little mouse (I think it’s a mouse), and the soot balls that work in the boiler room, though I don’t remember that (I’ll try to grab screenshots when I rewatch the whole film)

Again, Spirited Away is the next film in the Animation Marathon, and it’s probably the best of the bunch as well. Expect a full review soon, though I’m not sure how detailed it will be. Filmspotting (the podcast that’s actually running the marathon) is on a bit of a break from the marathon, as they’re doing their obligatory 2006 wrap up shows and best of the year lists.

Dubbing vs. Subtitles

One of the things movie snobs often complain about is dubbing, and when it comes to your typical live action foreign language films, I’m pretty firmly entrenched in the snob camp. However, animation is different, as it doesn’t suffer as badly from unsynchronized lip movement. Most humans find the human face engaging and are wired, seemingly from birth (faces are among the first things babies are thought to recognize), to read facial expressions and movements. So we’re very good at recognizing when someone’s voice doesn’t match their lip movements. Again, in a dubbed live action film, this produces a sort of cognitive dissonance. Animated films always have to deal with this (even when animation is matched to the voiceover, the fidelity of animation prevents an exact match), so it would make sense that a dubbed animated film would probably not be as jarring as a dubbed live action film. In short, I’m already accustomed to the cognitive dissonance caused by animated films, so dubbing should theoretically be fine. Beckonking Chasm recenty wrote about his adventures in Anime, and makes an interesting case:

I always watch the English dub versions. Not to disrespect the Japanese or their language, far from it, but I have absolutely no facility with foreign languages. (My abilities in English are bad enough.) Yes, one can read subtitles, and that’s how I always watch live-action foreign films. An actor’s voice is just as much a part of his performance as his face and the way he chooses to move.

However, when watching Liv Ullman and Erland Josephson argue about who gets to commit suicide first, I can see them in a familiar environment—I don’t have to wonder what the fantastical device is that they’re sitting on, I know it’s called a “couch.” Even in futuristic live-action films, I can still key in on what the environment represents to the characters and I don’t have to watch it continuously to figure out its nature.

In animation, however, everything is brand new. It’s all been designed deliberately from the blank page up—everything has a choice behind it. It’s also frequently imaginative and beautiful. I don’t like taking my eyes away from it in order to read subtitles—I’d much rather hear the dialogue so I can keep watching.

I’ve recently been watching more Anime, and the question of whether to use dubbing or subtitles is still up in the air for me. My live action snobbery has leaked over to animated films, so I’ve watched most everything with the original audio and subtitles, but I’ve also recently tried giving the dubs a shot as well (with varying results). However, I think Beckoning Chasm makes some interesting points. So when I started watching Ghost in the Shell, I decided that I’d give the dubbing a try. Bad move. The english voice acting was so bad that I couldn’t stand it and had to switch to subtitles. Then I noticed something interesting. The translations were completely different.

The opening scene in the movie features the Major on a rooftop, eavesdropping on some diplomatic meeting. The dubbed version goes like this:

BATOU: Major Kusanagi, Section 6 is in position and ready to move in.

BATOU: Major, are you there?

THE MAJOR: Yeah, I heard you.

BATOU: I’m surprised you could hear anything. What’s with all the noise in your brain today?

THE MAJOR: Must be a loose wire.

And the subtitled version was this:

BATOU: Major Kusanagi, Section 6 is ready to move in.

BATOU: Major!

THE MAJOR: I hear you.

BATOU: There’s a lot of static in your brain.

THE MAJOR: It’s that time of the month.

Quite a difference, and, um, a little sexist? Even disregarding that, it appears that the dubbing is a more natural translation, even if the voice actors can’t emote to save their lives. I finished the movie with subtitles on, then went back and turned on the english language audio with the english subtitles. It’s a bizzarre experience.

I didn’t watch the whole thing like that, as it’s a little distracting to be reading and hearing similar, but different text (talk about your cognitive dissonance). Oddly enough, even though I think the dubbed translation is better, I still think subtitles work reasonably well too. Some of the dialogue sounds ridiculous when voiced out loud, but reading it gives a different experience. Also, it makes sense that the subtitles would be different, as there is a limited amount of space to communicate the same information (apparently there is less space in subtitles than in the audio).

One of the problems with adapting books to movies is that an exact translation is nearly always doomed to failure. You can’t typically use the same dialogue as the book, for instance. It will sound stunted and out of place. No one talks they way people talk in books. Hell, no one talks the way they do in movies. That’s because the dialogue is adapted to the medium. You can get away with a lot more in prose, but movies need to convey a lot of the same information visually. This is why adaptations are so difficult. However, when I watched the subtitled version of Ghost in the Shell, the dialogue seemed much better when reading it than when listening to it (even though I liked the dubbed translation better). It’s almost like an accidental middle ground between a book a movie. It’s an interesting dynamic, and I’m not sure what to make of it. In the mean time, I’m going to have to experiment with dubbed versions of stuff that I’ve already seen. I wonder what Haibane Renmei is like dubbed? Is the translation different? Why do I have the feeling I’m going to spend my Christmas holiday watching anime with the audio and subtitles set to english (then again, December 25 is Anime Day, so perhaps this is appropriate)?

Animation Marathon: Ghost in the Shell

The next film in the animation marathon is Ghost in the Shell. Like the previous film in the marathon, Akira, I had already seen this movie a few times before revisiting it for the marathon. Unlike Akira, my original opinion of this film was relatively high, and this most recent viewing hasn’t changed my feelings much. Ghost in the Shell is not perfect, but it holds up well and is an excellent animated film.

Like Akira, Ghost in the Shell is often held up as one of the essential pieces of anime that anyone interested in the form needs to see. Historically, it was the first anime film released simultaneously in Japan and in other markets (notably the UK and the US), but it proved a little too complex to become a mainstream success. However, it found a market on DVD and has enjoyed cult status ever since.

The story takes place in a futuristic world where technology has advanced considerably and has begun to displace biological components of the human body (this even includes the brain). Cyborgs are common, and indeed, many people are more machine than human (those who can afford it, at least). One such cyborg is Major Motoko Kusanagi. She heads up a team that is part of section 9, an intelligence organization that tends to work more in the shadows (as opposed to their counterparts in section 6, whose role could be described more diplomatically).

The Major

All this technology comes at a price though. Increased internet connectivity and human-computer brain interfaces have introduced new vulnerabilities, and a new crime has appeared: Ghost hacking. The “Ghost” essentially represents a person’s individual identity (while the “shell” represents their physical body, be it biological or artificial), and hackers can access and manipulate a human’s ghost. A ghost hacker named “The Puppet Master” has appeared on the scene, hacking into various people, erasing their memories and programming them to do his bidding. Section 9, lead by the Major, has been chasing the Puppet Master for a while now, and some pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fall into place…

The Major likes to scuba dive

It’s a dense story, and the technological advances pose a ton of intriguing questions about the nature of identity. The Major, whose physical body is almost all machine, is understandably a little paranoid about her identity. Is she really who she thinks she is? Is anyone really who they think they are? What makes me what I am? If my consciousness is transferred into an artificial brain, am I still me? This is the sort of thing that will stay with you long after the film has ended. After watching Ghost in the Shell, Steven Den Beste wrote a fascinating article exploring these concepts:

Ghost in the Shell challenged me to consider the question of what I actually am. What makes me what I am?

What am I? That can be answered in many ways. I am a particular human being; I am this body. But is the entire body really part of the essential me? I don’t consider myself to be different – or to have died – if I trim my fingernails or get my hair cut. If I suffered a grievous injury and had a limb amputated, I would still be me. If I received a heart transplant, I would still be me. (And the donor of that heart would still be dead.)

The whole article is great and helps illustrate the intellectually challenging aspects of the story. The film explores these questions in detailed philosophical conversations that may be a little to overt for some, but it works well in a plot that intersperses enough action and intrigue to keep the viewer’s attention. While the film does include governmental agencies and a futuristic city, I think it’s worth noting that this future isn’t a dystopia. It’s a well realized vision of the future, but it actually doesn’t feel all that different from our own world. That is to say, things aren’t perfect, but we haven’t descended to the ninth circle of hell just yet either. This is a large part of why I enjoyed this film more than I enjoyed Akira. Both movies deal with big ideas and transcendant themes, but Akira‘s characters are shallow and unsympathetic and it’s ideas are only given a superficial exploration. Ghost in the Shell, on the other hand, has several sympathetic characters and it delves much deeper into it’s conceptual vision. The ending of both movies involves some ambiguity, but Ghost in the Shell‘s ending resonates deeper because I could empathize with the characters (even if the plot was a little convoluted).

A tank fires at the Major

Visually, Ghost in the Shell is impressive. Like Akira, it’s a spectacular piece of work, and quite engaging. The animation is extremely detailed and fluid (though I have to admit, I think I’m more impressed with Akira‘s animation). The action sequences are well orchestrated and sometimes approach a poetic feel. The soundtrack is evokative and well suited towards the subject matter, though the dubbed voiceover is amongst the worst I’ve heard. Ironically, I think subtitles may suit this script better than spoken word in some cases (see my musings on the varying translations on the dubbing and subtitled versions), as the longer monologues sound absurd when spoken aloud in a monotone voice, but don’t seem so ponderous when read by the viewer. Symbolism, such as the use of a wall charting the evolution of life in the climax of the film, is used but not abused. As previously mentioned, the juxtaposition of action sequences with philosophical musings may seem a little disjointed and jarring to some, but I was taken in by the film.

Visually stunning, intellectually challenging, and action packed

Ultimately, we’re left with a visually stunning, intellectually challenging, action packed movie. Unlike Akira, this movie had more of an emotional impact and it provoked interesting thoughts. It stuck with me, and forced me to ponder some of the great unanswerable questions. While I wouldn’t call it a perfect film, it is well worth the watch and definitely amongst the Anime essentials. Three Stars (***)

Update: Filmspotting has posted their review, and their feelings were mixed. Neither seemed to be impressed with the story (or couldn’t follow it) or the visuals, but Sam seemed to like it for the same reasons I did (though Adam did not).

More images and assorted comments below the fold…

Animation Marathon: Akira

There were only two movies in the Animation Marathon that I hadn’t seen before, and they were the first two. Next up is Akira, a movie that I have seen multiple times in the past. My first thoughts upon initial viewings were that it had some interesting points but that it was ultimately an incoherent mess. However, it should be noted that I originally saw the movie many years ago on a crappy VHS tape with a dubbed soundtrack and a washed out transfer. The movie has since been fully restored, digitally remastered, and perhaps most importantly, it’s recieved a new translation. As a result, the film looked great and I could follow the story much better this time around, and my opinon of the film has improved considerably. It certainly has some flaws, but it really is a spectacular experience. Spoilers ahoy.

Along with Ghost in the Shell (the next film in the marathon), this film is often held up as the pinnacle of Anime and, as such, is generally considered to be “essential” viewing for someone interested in the form. Historically, this is the film that brought Anime to America (it was my first exposure to Anime as well), so it’s certainly important in that respect. Even so, I don’t know that it really would make a good introduction to the form, unless you are really into the gritty post-apocalyptic genre.

Kaneda on his bike

The story begins by showing Tokyo consumed by a large explosion that apparently sets off World War III. Thirty years later, the war is over and Tokyo has been rebuilt. Like most post-apocalyptic worlds, this one ain’t pretty. The streets are overwhelmed with dissent and crime is rampant. The story follows a wimpy biker punk named Tetsuo and his friend Kaneda, who seems to be the leader of their makeshift motorcycle gang. The two get caught up in a governmental experiment that attempts to harness latent human abilities, and Tetsuo suddenly becomes endowed with psychic powers. I think Justin puts it well when he says: “As we all well know, from studying Carrie, rejected nerds with telekenetic abilities do not use their powers just for cleaning litter on the highways.” Tetsuo goes on a rampage through New Tokyo in an attempt to reach the mysterious Akira.

Tetsuo

Adapted from a 2,000 page Manga series of the same name, Akira touches on a lot of subjects. As with most adaptations of large bodies of work, there are some scenes or characters that seem out of place and it feels like there is a lot of complexity lurking beneath the surface, especially when it comes to the social and political issues that are only touched on in the film. However, the story works well as a whole. The ending is still a little confusing, but it’s much better than the garbled mess from the original translation. Thematically, the film is obviously alluding to Japan’s relationship with technology, specifically nuclear weapons. There appear to be strong cultural themes in the film that are a little hazy to a westerner like myself, but there is clearly something going on there.

The only issue I had with the story is that the most of the characters are not very likeable. Tetsuo and Kaneda are ostensibly the center of the film, but they’re both self-interested punks and not very sympathetic. I guess you’d call Tetsuo the villain of the movie, so it’s understandable that he’s not likeable, but Kaneda is supposed to be our hero, and he comes off as goofy, ignorant and immature (granted, he is a kid, but his silly comments were often quite jarring). The only characters that show a noble side are the three kids that are part of the government project, but while they play an important role, they’re really only bit characters. However, the film is able to overcome these deficiencies because its vision is sufficiently compelling, and there are plenty of interesting and ambitious ideas to keep the viewer occupied. Action sequences are also well composed and keep the story moving briskly, which helps.

Tetsuo falling

Speaking of vision, this has to be one of the finest examples of animation I’ve ever seen. It is perhaps a little dated, but when you take into account that this movie was made long before modern techniques (like CGI or digital image correction), it really is a remarkable achievement. Filled with vibrant colors and stunning imagery, the film is a rollercoaster ride from start to finish. I’ve included a bunch of screenshots from the film, but it’s worth noting that the animation itself – the actual movement of various elements on screen – is very well done (and can’t be captured in a still). The ambient soundtrack is atmospheric and evokative, with an interesting mixture of instrumentation and electronic music (that doesn’t seem at all dated and indeed, may even have been ahead of its time). Symbolic imagery (for example, Tetsuo’s growing powers are symbolized in a dream by a flood of milk… or towards the end of the movie, when Tetsuo is being consumed by his powers and regressing into a monstrous creature that engulfs everything in sight, his morphing body clearly takes on the shape of a mushroom cloud) is used, but not abused.

Akira returns!

Ultimately, while the kinetic action of the animation and story serves to hold the viewer’s attention, the film isn’t especially involving on an emotional level (I think this is due to the lack of sympathetic characters more than anything else). It does tackle some “big” ideas, but not in a way that will have you questioning life, the universe, and everything. In many ways it is a spectacular experience, and well worth the watch, but it is also a flawed movie. Still, thanks to the restored version, I’ve come to see why it’s considered an “essential” film for anyone interested in Anime (though I’m not sure it would be played on the traditional Otaku holiday known as Anime Day). Three stars (***)

More images and assorted comments below the fold…