jgn13

[jgn13]

someone activated a sleeper agent and now I'm hyperfixated on rhythm games again

here's chai hi-fi rush

I'm p sure he's the only person that has failed out of lovely radio CSP in the break section where you just have to walk away from the DDR cab for a couple of seconds

also yea I'm back on the IIDX struggle train, I need a way to play that game at home in order to get more used to the 2:5 playstyle and the harder LV.10 charts

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给朋友的

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"I'm not even gonna look. I trust in my own sense of rhythm"

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she was sobbing “it’s okay, it’s okay” to herself while scrubbing graffiti off of her father’s house so he wouldn’t leave her. and we’re letting hokazono get away with it

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🦑 MOD APPS: 2 WEEKS LEFT 🐙

Jan... ken... PON! What a throwback to Splatoon 3's first fest! Speaking of reminders, kAyOSs and C4L4M4R wanted to tell you about our Moderator Applications closing in 2 WEEKS!

🔎: MOD APP FORM (CLICK HERE!)

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So I watched The Sky Crawlers

Woo boy, this is gonna be a long one.

Alright, so I’ve been interested in Mamoru Oshi films for a long, long time. He’s one of the most acclaimed directors in the anime industry, and most of his films are highly-regarded masterpieces, so I’ve always had an interest in his work. Then I watched Ghost in the Shell and it didn’t do much for me, and I promptly lowered my expectations. Still, I was curious as to whether his other work was any better, and thankfully this one delivered

MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE MOVIE AHEAD

Firstly, there’s one thing I can’t help but talk about in regards to this film: the atmosphere. This film has one of the most immaculate vibes I’ve seen in anime, and that largely just comes down to how every single part of the film is built to convey it to near perfection. All of the characters, even the more lively ones, are more than a little apathetic with understated expressions, the sound design is subtle and tends to emphasize silence a lot of the time, Kenji Kawai’s musical score is just eerie & haunting.

Hell, even the shot composition supports this (and it should say something that this movie managed to make me catch on to something as subtle as shot composition), most of the scenes are framed in a way where the places they’re in feel empty and the characters seem utterly alone even when in places where there’s other people with them. And this is even further backed up by the fact that the film rarely, if ever, uses background extras, making even the more “crowded” scenes feel pretty empty compared to most anime.

All of this comes together to create a subtle feeling of haunting emptiness which permeates the entire film, a feeling which is perfectly complemented by the character writing. Now one of my biggest complaints with the last Oshii film I watched, Ghost in the Shell, was how barebones the character writing felt, making everyone feel so unenjoyably hollow, but Sky Crawlers manages to rectify this in two ways. The first being that it does feel like there’s a sense of personality to all the characters present, on the subtlest level, even the supporting characters have their own little quirks which set them apart, and the two main leads get some fantastic development, which I’ll get to in a moment.

The other thing I enjoyed about the character writing is how it took the dry hollowness of Oshii’s writing and actually made it a compelling part of the film. The main character, Kannami, is a bit bland on the surface, of the film’s primary characters, he’s by far the least emotive and expressive, always approaching everything with the same look of detached apathy and never seeming that interested even in the ongoing plot. However, this is all by design. He’s a Kildren, someone genetically engineered from birth to be eternally young and fight in this war forever. He has no past to speak of or future to look forward to, no loved ones to ground him or home to come back to, nothing to fight for or believe in. All he has is a robotic persistence to move forward in this war because that’s the only thing he’s ever known. And it’s that same hollowness which makes the film’s ending all the more poignant, he subtly grew to care and love over the course of the film, all climaxing when he finally had something to fight for and believe in at the very end. And even if he’s dead, his and what he fought for will continue forward through Kusanagi.

While I’m on the subject, I’mma also talk about the film’s other lead, Suito Kusanagi, since she’s by far the movie’s most interesting character. Throughout most of the film, she’s something of a mystery, she’s cold towards Kannami and we see bits & pieces of what she does without much understanding of her internal logic. We’re fed details about her one bit at a time and slowly come to understand her more and more in a way which is incredibly engaging for me. She’s a Kildren who’s survived longer than anyone could have predicted, driven to suicidal depression by the monotony of fighting a meaningless, repetitive war while living an empty, repetitive life. Despite her coldness, she’s the most emotional of the characters in the film, as it’s made clear she truly does care about those she fights with and has the most strong emotional moments of the film. And the ultimate resolution of her arc at the end, being inspired by Kannami’s drive to change things and seeing hope in the future for the first time in her life, is just beautiful.

One last thing about the character writing, having a strong backbone of characterization makes some of Oshii’s other writing quirks work a lot more for me, specifically the lengthy philosophical discussions. Mitsuya infodumping about the nature of the Kildren works really well since it also doubles as her having an existential crisis and being able to unload about it to someone for the first time to the point where she’s breaking down in tears by the end of it. Or Kannami philosophizing about the monotony of Kildren life near the end, which feels earned rather than forced since it followed up on almost two hours of him slowly coming to terms with the nature of his existence.

The fact that I’ve rambled about this film for paragraphs and paragraphs without even talking about the themes yet is a testament to its depth and attention to detail, but let's get on with it. Fundamentally, Sky Crawlers is a war film, but it’s also a commentary on the frustration of our generation and on the nature of war itself in relation to modern society. It’s about the monotony of living life in a world which increasingly drives you towards pessimism and depression. The Kildren are people who have no hope for the future, the overly commercialized society which created them to fight in their wars has stripped them of any chance of a life beyond war and exploitation by the megacorporations who built the infinite meat-grinder they have no choice but to fight in. And without anything to look forward to or dreams to strive for, how do you meaningfully mature and grow as a person? How do you meaningfully develop a sense of time or continuity when every day is the same and you can’t even form new memories because of that? And without memories of the past or dreams of the future, how do you even form a reliable sense of self? These questions are at the core of this film, and they make its ending all the more powerful to me: Kannami and Kusanagi do finally find some sense of resolution at the end of the road, when they each find hope that one day they’ll be able to change the system. It’s only when they find hope in tomorrow that they begin to truly move forward. And Kannami’s death only enhances this for me, an acknowledgement that trying to change the world and truly progress is nearly impossible, an insurmountable obstacle which few might ever be able to achieve, but it’s still worth trying, worth moving forward, regardless.

I’d also be remiss not to mention the tourist scene. A bunch of tourists come to the base and treat the war they’re fighting in like a team sport they use to entertain themselves from a distance, then proceed to offer shallow pity when one of the Kildren is shot down and dies in front of them, offering vague platitudes about “fighting for a peaceful world” that not even the Kildren believe in. It’s a truly biting commentary on the sensationalization of war in modern media and adds weight to Kusanagi’s words later when she talks about how War is necessary in society because the idea of ongoing conflict in the world makes people living in peace behind the lines feel good about themselves by emphasizing the importance of peace. Plus, the scene of Kusanagi calling out the tourists is a great moment for her

One last thing, I got a lot of enjoyment out of comparing this film to Eighty-Six, my second favorite anime, since there’s a lot of interesting similarities to dig into. Narratively speaking, both are about a class of people designated to fight in someone else’s war and how they cope with being born on the battlefield & having no future, as well as having one of the main characters being one of them who’s survived longer than everyone else. Both commentate on the relationship between war and peaceful society (hell, Kusanagi’s scene of calling out the tourists feels like something right out of 86), and both have some incredible CGI fight scenes.

Presentation-wise, the film was great. The 2D animation is masterfully crafted and brilliantly subtle, and the CGI, while PS2-tier, is honestly really well-integrated, so I didn’t get any uncanny valley feelings. The music is incredible, easily one of Kenji Kawai’s best soundtracks.

So, yeah, this film is a masterpiece and I loved every second of it

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Super Star Mitsuru - She Is My Wife Dance Lesson Video

i got my internet back and finally stopped being lazy from it so here it is.

now you too can dance like a super star.

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yarrwhal adventure for the GASE model 4

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The one and only C4L4M4R 🦑

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best promo squid

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how i think the promo kids feel about each other because i can: the post.

veronika (ronnie)

on annie: we were...something in elementary. don't know what her deal is now

on yarr: cool dude. can clean the hell out of a weapon and is a good tableturf opponent

on steph: friends til the end. i help her, she helps me. i've only known her for a few months, but it feels like i've known her forever

cal: suuuper good cook and pretty skilled at chargers. i gave him the nickname cal and he really seems to like it.

on kay:

on hiro: he was the first person i met when i got to the splatlands. ever since then, we've had a pretty strong bond.

on tako: ...are you okay?

anenomeno1 (annie)

on ronnie: i will destroy you every chance i get and i hate you.

on yarr: you’re a nerd and a loser. also your glasses are stupid mine are better.

on steph: meh. (condescending)

on cal: you’re such a baby. i cant believe hiro put you as 2nd in charge. it should be me! IT SHOULD BE M

on kay: you’re so pretentious and i hate you. i hope your favorite thing gets as rating on some random rating site so you have to stop liking it.

on hiro: i just know youre a loser who pretends not to be. i know it. i know it. i could beat you up. (could not)

on tako: you get me. we’re best friends for life and forever. …maybe something even more?

yarrwhal (yarr)

on ronnie: i don’t know why she’s a casual player. she could totally rock the field with a just a jammed up splattershot.

on annie: …you can’t even see in those, dude.

on steph: 🤝

on cal: how is he so good at chargers? shouldn’t he be, like, in school? he’s like 12.

on kay: do not touch me do not look at me i don’t want to be associated with you sorry

on hiro: turf master to turf master—you’re cool. we should play in a tourney together.

on tako: the enemy of my enemy is my friend…? actually no that doesn’t sound right.

stephanie (steph)

on ronnie: yo!!!! it’s always so nice to see you! friends til the end.

on annie: you should get help. (well-intentioned)

on yarr: 🤝

on cal: you should cook for me us more often. please? please.

on kay: annoying.

on hiro: we could kill so many people together.

on tako: why do you keep staring at me?

c4l4m4r (cal)

on ronnie: i appreciate the compliment, but i’m really not good at either. luck, i guess?

on annie: hiro told me not to talk to you. sorry :(

on yarr: do you really think i'm that good? :0 you're way better!

on steph: ehehe i'm glad you like my cooking! i'll make sure to always make seconds for you! :]

on kay: (indifferent.)

on hiro: i'll do my best!

on tako: i am NOT a BABY!! :(

kayoss (kay)

on ronnie: oh, of course, the skilled spunky tomboy teenage girl who thinks she's 'just average'. sigh. boooring.

on annie: lol you'll like or dislike anything tako likes or dislikes, you shouldn't be speaking.

on yarr: ugh. i wasn't planning on getting near you anyway. you're stupid and i'm worried your stupidity will infect me

on steph: don't worry, i think you're annoying too

on cal: you're nothing but a baby. don't try and step to me.

on hiro: stop trying to be me. also ronnie will never love you back kthankbye <3

on tako: ugh. you again. get a life, girl

hirooooo (hiro)

on ronnie: hey girl are you. are you a girl because. are you you because. because i love you. i dont think im doing this right

on annie: no you could not beat me up and no i'm not putting you in charge.

on yarr: i agree. we'd make a good team. as long as i get to play with veronika...

on steph: true.

on cal: you're a natural leader! i know you'll go far in life, so don't ever think you won't

on kay: dude if i was you i would **** ******

on tako: what...happened to you?

takotruck (tako)

on ronnie: filthy casual not worth my time. you could never be me or compare to me, so stop trying 💖

on annie: you get me. it's kind of us against the world atp.

on yarr: don't speak to me. i do not respect you.

on steph: hey do you like girls. don't ask me why i'm asking.

on cal: you're a baby LMAOOOOOOO idk why hiro put you in charge

on kay: kys before i come to your house and do it for you.

on hiro: don't look at me. don't touch me. don't speak to me. i hate you and everything you and your little girlfriend stand for. i should kill you with my bare hands you fuc

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Oooo- could you draw C4L /Shady... 👀

Love this creature

The slim shady