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[shkrimpies]

Shin Sekai Yori 4/17

I always love starting these with a "man I love this art style" but, I really enjoyed this art style. The best way to describe it is "...what the heck." It uses the common anime style of larger eyes, commonly seen anime hairstyles (like the hime cut and side-swept bangs) but the facial expressions, thickness of the lineart, and "freaky" design of the queerrats all stand out, and it makes for a very unique piece of art.

I also found the sound design to be very interesting as well. The use of traditional Japanese instruments mixed with strange tones during some morally scary moments, and then the immediate change to more normal-sounding music when something is trying to be covered up is an interesting choice made by the creators in order to indirectly tell the audience that something is up.

The opening scene, while seemingly supporting the theme of fearing children, is such an interesting way to introduce one of the driving ideas of the anime in a way that does not impact the main characters directly, but is still equally intense.

As for the content, my "what the heck" sentiment carries. Not in the sense of misunderstanding or confusion, but utter repulsion from the adults and powers that be. Trying to cover up Shuns transformation into a Karma Demon and subsequent death, their treatment of the queerrats despite their seeming intelligence, and the point of the sacred barrier if it can't keep out the Ogres??

Despite this idea of the power being uncontrollable in the children, suspect that something much more sinister is going on with the adults, considering how they avoid speaking of what happened to the remaining children at the harmony school.

[shkrimpies]

Eden of the East 4/12

I think the art style for this anime is very unique, in the best way. The realistic and detailed backgrounds contrast the character designs in a way that not only helps distinguish the main characters from the background, but I see it as a direct design choice to slightly "remove" them from the rest of the world, considering what they were experiencing, such as his amnesia. (also the backgrounds are SO GOOD)

As for the story, it seems a *little* bit convoluted, however (to what we have seen for class thus far,) I think they're handling it well, and I'm excited to see what happens next. The fact they considered the original event as "no casualties" but in reality they tried to obliterate all the NEETs he collected, is an interesting decision to make, its an interesting choice to make, considering how society sees NEETs as nothing.

Addressing the characters, while I understand why, I personally do not like how dependent Takizawa is to Saki. Now again, he's completely lost his memory and is stuck in a country that does not speak his native language, however I'm worried that the his dependence on her will begin to promote some bad things in the future.... :(

Saki's internal struggle of conforming to the societal expectation of getting a job or truly enjoying her life is something that I totally relate to, as my hobbies and interests are considered pointless in the world of economics and society.

I found it interesting that, during her trip to the United States, she "makes her wish" in the United States, which we might learn more about later.

[shkrimpies]

The Ring (Extra Credit 4/8)

Bruh.

Maybe I've become spoiled with this class, but I really enjoyed the original film "Ringu" SO MUCH MORE than the American adaptation.

The Ring itself is a fine movie, but because it is a remake of such a film, it had some very large shoes to fill. To some extent, it absolutely did fulfill its task, however, in some aspects, it fell very flat.

For some of the positives, the effects and physical presentation of The Ring are really cool. The blue-gray filter overtop the film helps set the mood, and the way Samara climbs through the TV and just *TV statics* around is SO COOL, and she's like, spilling water everywhere...omg heckin' good.

The lore of Samara's ghost was really nice, it felt more flushed out. (The horse scene was crazy)

HOWEVER, a lot of the nuance and themes were either partially ignored or completely removed from the American film, and because of that, the remake feels so much more...empty.

The American version focuses more on the logistics and causes of the curse, rather than the existential dread that the original derives most of its horror from. Analog horror was usurped for more jump scares, and while still "scary," it's much less fun.

Removing the dead cousin's spirit from communicating with her son to watch the tape was pointless in my opinion. in The Ring, the son had watched the tape because he was bored, but in the original, he was visited by his cousin's ghost. I don't understand why they did that, considering they made the child a psychic in this version, and not the father. Having the son see the ghost would make more thematic sense in my opinion (but hey what do I know I'm not a director)

I also think having Samara's eyes visible as often as they were removed the overall intensity of her as a monster. In Ringu, you only see her eyes once, and because of that, it's so much more dramatic and intense, rather than in The Ring where they try to recreate that emotion, but because you had seen her eyes in the interrogation and in other scenes, it's less impactful.

This is not to say that the film itself is bad, stand-alone The Ring is really good and an interesting way to depict lingering dread. However because it is a direct adaptation to Ringu, it loses a lot of it's charm.

//I wanted to cry because I had my dad watch Ringu with me on Friday and he told me that The Ring is better. He's totally allowed to think that, but like, i disagree

[shkrimpies]

Zipang 4/8

Battleships are so interesting to me. How does such a large and heavy piece of machinery not immediately sink (I know why but it's still cool)

Zipang was such a whirlwind of emotions, both good and bad, and I really enjoy it so far.

Time travel is a subject that man anime explore, however, I've never seen an anime that attempts to cover both the micro and macro aspects of the plot device. Small changes in the past can result in catastrophic changes in the future, and Zipang's time travel is no exception. I appreciate how vital this idea is in Zipang, and because of it, I see the methods and beliefs of time travel in the show as an interesting allegory of actions and their consequences.

Furthermore, it's representation of war is "refreshing" (not super common) in that, there is no true protagonist or evil antagonist. War itself is complex, with strategy and plans that are, in almost every case, morally ambiguous, and I really appreciate how the creators of this show make that a point. We as an audience root for the titular characters, however it's made clear that their actions can also be callous and cruel, as well as brave and heroic.

I have mixed feelings on the art style.

For the time it came out, the 3d cgi used on the moving ships its actually surprisingly well-rendered, and hard to notice at times. However, the designs of the characters are where I have "concerns." In many pieces of media we've seen in class thus far, we've discussed the use of larger eyes and smoother edges on a character's face as a design choice to make a character seem more approachable/kind. This had an effect on audiences to make them believe that the Japanese individuals were more innocent, and often characters around them who were not of Japanese descent were often drawn with more accentuated features. Many of the characters (Japanese specifically) have this in this show, however, because this show has more of a centralist perspective, I think of this less of a direct choice with this mentality, and more of an overall design choice to follow the manga art style, as well as make the overall message more palatable.

I do however REALLY REALLY love that each character has a unique facial structure, that's some intense attention to detail.

[shkrimpies]

Ringu 4/5

This movie was definitely a movie.

I really enjoyed this movie overall, however less as a horror film and more as a fun, campy film, which I understand is now how the film was intended to be seen.

Until last Monday, I had never actually seen this film. I knew what it was and the story behind it, but I had never taken the time to watch it, which I think overall debilitated my view of it, not necessarily in a bad way. The film itself was full of attention to detail, and despite the directors overall disinterest in the horror genre, there was seemingly a lot of heart put into the film.

One of my favorite aspects of the film is how the timing and flow of the movie directly correlate to the scenes and themes being presented at that time in the film. Specifically, in the first 3 days of Reiko being cursed, the film is very fast-paced. At this time Reiko is unconvinced of the curse, and because of that she is continuing her days like normal, not really paying attention to much going on around her. However, once her Ex husband gets involved, and the curse is confirmed, the plot slows down almost to a stop, as so many small details become EXCEEDINGLY important.

The sound design was fantastic though. Holy heck, the sound that played at the beginning of each day was so spooky, and I liked how everyday that passed, the sound got a little longer, added so much dimension to the overall feeling of the film.

[shkrimpies]

This anime sucks.

Every character is not only entirely selfish, theyre also either rude, delusional, or manipulative. The art style basic, inconsistent, and borderline bad. The only "plot" it has is ridiculous at best.

However, I belive that's the point.

Welcome to the NHK, has the most "real" characters and settings I've seen in recent memory.

Sure their are better characters in other anime that are much more empathetic, genuine, and kind, but the characters in the NHK feel more realistic because they are flawed. They're all demonstrably co-dependant, self-centered; they lie, manipulate, and make false claims, but that's something that everyone is to some degree guilty of. Because of that, I felt more connected to the characters, especially Satou and Yamazaki.

In Satou's case, while I'm not a Hikigamori, I can understand anxiety in public places, and for Yamazaki, I can relate to him in the sense that I'm also an irredeemable weeb.

Welcome to the NHK is especially unique in the sense that it really never tires to redeem its characters. Sure the show is focused on the rehabilitation of Satou, buy it never expects its audience to forgive him for his actions leading up, and during their meetings. The most glaring examples being Satou sexualizing Misaki before he confirmed her age, Misaki using Satou's mental instability as a way to cope and feel superior, and Yamazaki throwing away Filial obligation and being terrible to his parents. Their is no argument that the society they live in provides essentially no help in their situations, as people with unique symptoms and mental states, but at the end of the day, they are the ones making these decisions, and the show does not allow them the excuse of "I have a mental illness so you have to forgive me" mentality that so many people expect. As someone who is neuro atypical, I find this representation to be both positive and negative.

Negative because, well honestly? Look at them. They're terrible people. I wouldn't be friends with them. Sure they get better over time, but that does not excuse that they're all terrible. Considering the time when this anime came out, the representation of neuro divergent individuals as being bad people is not the *best*

However I also see this to be a positive as well. To some extent, their mental states are very realistic, and (in most cases) are not hyper stylized or over the top. They're suffering in a society that rejects them, and doing their best to enjoy life, seemingly giving up on those who do fit the societal mold, and that's something I totally understand.

Welcome to the NHK sucks. But because of that, it's one of the most realistic and relatable stories in more contemporary anime

[shkrimpies]

Banana Fish 4/3

Bro I was so excited to be able to watch this in an educational setting, the art, story, and themes are all so good I love Eiji and Ash so much they deserve the world.

When I first read the manga of this adaptation about 4 years ago, it fundamentally changed the way I perceived mafia and gangster media.

In so much mafia media, the storytellers portray the story as, to some extent, glorified with impressive "family"-wide battles, and with such grandeur. Banana Fish, on the other hand, shows how brutal the environment truly is. Instead of the romanticized moments seen in most mafia, you see the intense abuse, trauma, death, overdose, and everything terrible involved with mafia media.

The presentation of a homosexually charged relationship, especially considering the year in which the manga was released, was a breath of fresh air! The relationship itself was (Given the circumstances) Their relationship feels very real, however, I really don't appreciate how almost every homosexual character present in the anime was either an assaulter or was assaulted, however, I believe that this was intentional by the creators, possibly commenting on the BL genre and some of its negative tropes that impact real homosexual men.

Also, I love how New York and its inhabitance were represented, considering it's made from a Japanese lens, lots of things differ from the real New York

[shkrimpies]

SwallowTail Butterfly 4/1

I always find it so interesting that there is so much media that tells precautionary tales on societal issues of over-consumption and the corruption of capitalist ideologies getting too powerful, but no one seems to take heed of these warnings...

I found the camera work to be especially unique in this film because the camera was rarely smooth, it felt unprofessional. That's not to say it was bad, actually improved the overall tone and emotion of the film.

I thought the intentional misdirection of the audience on the physical location was also really impressive, it made Yentown feel less like a physical place, and more like an idea or motif. That fits the overall point of the movie, as the people and place are sort of a personification of the problems with capitalism.

Side note; I thought the use of multiple languages in the movie was really interesting, and how the use of each language was synonymous with class depending on the individual. For instance, people who spoke Chinese generally were often considered lower class, and people who spoke English were, while still lower class, generally had a better time communicating with those around them. People who spoke Japanese however, generally had the hardest time communicating with anyone, such as the guy with the broken down car and Ahega not being able to communicate with the Chinese society she was brought into, almost like the director is saying that those who fully and only embrace Japanese culture in this society are truly the most dejected, despite the fact they try to seem the most together and collected.

[shkrimpies]

Your Name 4/1

(Before I get into the meat and potatoes of this film, I'd like to say; RadWimps at it again with another banger music design, they really understand how to make the music of a film not only stand out, but also fit the atmosphere of its movie so well <3)

Your Name is an anime movie I had heard a lot about, but never actually took the time to see (up until now.) I thought it would be similar to movies like Penguin Highway or Lu Over the Wall; stylistically beautiful, impressive art direction, with a coming-of-age story. To some extent, I was correct, but the metaphors that referenced natural disasters was a refreshing new perspective, and I overall really enjoyed the film.

What's so interesting about this film is that it's hard to pinpoint an individual theme or point of the film, (at least in my opinion) which isn't really something I've had issues with thus far in this class, as most of the media we've discussed either wear its themes on its sleeves (it makes it clear what it's trying to comment on) or the theme is complex in the sense that it involves many different facets, however, this film takes its time to discuss many different themes of coming of age angst, rejection of previous generation rules, and gender normative social rules (which are always awesome to comment on)

I also appreciated the attention to detail the art direction had, such as Taki's wristband, which acted like a subtle reminder to the audience, as Taki only wore the wristband when he was himself, or when the background later has a missing tree after the outdoor cafe is completed, it makes the world feel so much more real! Not to mention how *stunning* this film is OMG there is not a word that can adequately describe how amazing this film looks.

//another side tangent, the scene when Mitsuha, while in Taki's body, struggled to find the right first person pronoun was SO FUNNY I struggle with that as well ALL THE TIME in my Japanese class LOL\\

[shkrimpies]

Hana-Bi 3/25

I'm having trouble deciding whether or not I really liked this movie, or really really *really* did not like this movie.

While I understand and respect the fact that this movie was made during the height of Yakuza-inspired films popularity, and it uses that saturation of films in order to critique the genre and its tropes, I find this movie to be very boring and lackluster in many scenes.

I find the titular character to be most interesting however. It's hard to decide if he's someone you should forgive, or someone who is beyond forgiveness. Did he purely commit the crimes in the film to protect the last moments with his wife, or was that just a pretext and excuse to try and run from his past?

I also thought the ambiguity of the ending was an interesting choice, we as the audience are not sure as to whether or not he kills him and his wife, or if he allows the two people following them commit the act. I'm under the belief that the two followers are the ones who kill him and his wife, however I also understand the intensity of the scene can make people think that he committed suicide.

I feel very bad for the man in the wheel chair most of all, considering almost all of the things that happen to him are at the fault of others, and only through art does he feel any sense of peace and self, only to eventually lose to it in the end (with the suicide painting at the end)

I feel like the overall amount of suffering felt by each character is fairly unseen in most yakuza movies, which is cool in a way, but overall? Not super super awesome but I understand why many like it, and why its important

[shkrimpies]

Penguindrum 3/25

I find myself being torn to whether or not I liked this show.

On one hand, the visuals, *some* of the themes, and the sound design are all very good, and I thoroughly enjoyed them!

On the other hand though? I really did not like the hints at incest and the characterization of Himari in many situations.

While it was revealed that Himari is not blood related to her 2 older brothers, that information is withheld for quite a while, so everything up to that point feels quite "icky." In my opinion, the decision to release that information later in the story, instead of earlier, was a conscious decision made by the creators, and *not a good decision at that*

As for Himari's character, calling her selfish given her situation would be jaded and cross of me....but let me be jaded and cross for a second (lemme cook) Having both of her brothers die felt unnecessary, and considering that I guess she can change fate, I feel like she *could* have done something about it, especially because this happened due to her bad decision...

HOWEVER, I still think the overall message is OK.

I really enjoyed the art style, the bright colors, juxtaposed by the black magical girl uniform is very unique. Each characters personality is present in their designs (Such as Shoumas more rounded and smooth edges being a representation of his character) and of course, small animals, gotta love them

[shkrimpies]

Go

Being unable to fit into the people around you is an emotion and experience that everyone, at one point or another, has experienced. However, being actively shunned by the country you're living in and by the people in that country, as well as constantly being watched by the people apart of "your society" is a little more intense.

I knew about North Korean schools in Japan for quite a while, and I also knew that many people in Japan find these schools to be backwards thinking, however I never considered the students and how they felt about these schools and the people who teach and run them. Many of the students at the school in this film have to suffer the mental dichotomy of following their families (and schools) wishes of following in their heritage, while also having to struggle through the advancement of society and technology in the actual country they are living in. Having to choose between two sides that both actively don't care about the individual is a seemingly impossible decision to make.

Sugihara is one of the most realistic depictions of a teenager I've seen thus far in the films we have reviewed in this class. "Family Game," while very fun and still one of my favorite movies of all time, does not really characterize the teens in the film to the same degree that "Go" does. Sugihara's reactions and decisions seem fairly similar to decisions I had made as a teenager (albeit to a different extent.) When he chooses to tell his lady that he's Korean, when he plays light the decisions he makes with his father behind the glass (like when he gives the peace sign) all seem like actions a real teenager in that situation would make, so it feels like real interactions.

I really still don't like his parents, even though I do understand they were doing their best. (the fight with the taxi driver was kinda awesome though)

[shkrimpies]

Neon Genesis Evangelion

As we continued through Evangelion, we were introduced to Asuka, and along with her we are introduced to a lot of the themes that are so positively received by audiences, including the discussions of the Hedgehogs Dilemma and the intrinsic evil of humanity, as well as the Instrumentality and how it shows the true nature of each character.

The Hedgehogs Dilemma is one of the most prominent themes in Evangelion, as it's one of Shinji's biggest personality traits, as many of the interactions he faces are caused by this mentality. Due to the interactions around him thus far, Shinji had never seen any real affection, so he believed that any interactions he had with others would end up also hurting that person, and this is mentality is further cemented when Shinji is forced to kill Kaworu (or carry out Kaworu's plan to save humanity)

These positive interactions between individuals are almost completely devoid in the anime, and the Instrumentality as a construct is used to deep dive into many of the characters to show exactly how that impacted so many characters. Of course, the main three children are showcased the most, as Shinji struggles and fights for these interactions, Asuka tries to suppress her need and desire for these interactions with work, and Rei, as someone who was artificially created, does not understand the emotions she experiences due to the lack of these human interactions.

I feel like the three characters are all personifications of the human fight for interaction, and by having the three of them be so vastly different, I find it to be a very powerful social commentary, and its effective in personifying these emotions because they are children, in their developmental stage in which positive human interaction is most necessary.

[shkrimpies]

Family Gae

This movie really was something.

I feel like the humor was something I did not really understand, maybe because of social differences in Japan and the United Sates or because of the differences in humor in different generations.

That is not to say I did not intensely enjoy this movie, however I cannot confirm if what I found humorous was intended to be humorous, or I just thought was goofy.

I thought the dynamic between Shigeyuki and Yoshimoto was particularly poignant, Yoshimoto acts as a father figure and also (possibly) as a figure of another type of "love" and I feel like not directly distinguishing the two not only intensifies the overall emotions felt by both the characters and the viwer, but it also gives nuance and ickyness of the movie. Shigeyuki never addresses his sexuality until after he meets Yoshimoto, but because it is ABSOLUTELY forced it makes it really nasty nasty, but I belive that's an intentional action made by the directors to criticize the objectification of younger people.

I found it interesting that each character had a distinct way of eating, synonymous to how they act in the movie. Ms.Numata, the mom, eats very quietly and methodically, much like how she is in the movie when she is making her crafts, or when speaking to people. Shinichi takes up a lot of space, often bumping into his younger brother, similarly to how he is always in his brother's business. Mr.Numata, the father is just always consuming, never satisfied. He is also never satisfied with his children or wife, constantly complaining about the job they do and expecting more. Yoshimoto eats with lots of intensity and noise, just how he is in the movie. Shigeyuki eats very quietly and slowly, just like how he acts around his family. Shigeyuki is the only person to really change the way he eats throughout the movie, excluding the scene where they all go crazy. In the scenes where the family eats together, Shigeyuki's eating habits begin to show him as more pronounced and present the more he begins to internalize the "lessons" his tutor is giving him.

I like how they personified the family dynamic falling apart by having the family throw food at each other, and by having the tutor start this event was also intentional, and a very interesting decision made by the director.

Also the scene with the two of them learning to fight and the telescope was the funniest scene in my opinion.

[shkrimpies]

Mob Psycho 100

get ready for the onslaught.

Mob Psycho 100 is by far my most favorite anime, and has been for nearly 3 years now, and this will likely not change. The characterization of each individual in the show is so dynamic and unique, that even in my 4th or 5th rewatch of the series, I will find new things about a character. Personally I find this to be the most important aspect of any anime; the characters and how they are flushed out.

For example, even in the introduction of Mob, he wasn't introduced first, despite being the main character. You didnt see his face until after about 7 minutes into the anime, and when he is, all you see is his back you instead were introduced to Reigen Arataka, Mob's lying master. This deliberate action by One and the directors intensifies the audiences understanding Mob's character. In the first few episodes, Mob is shown to be someone who seems to really not care about anything, but as his character becomes more and mroe flushed out, you slowly begin to realize that he intentionally avoids his emotions as a way to "protect" those around him.

Mob Psycho 100 is an anime that uses the previously established trends and ideas in many Shonen titles, and uses them to mis-direct the audience, which I believe further entices the audience. Most of the hard hitting events of the anime take place in smaller, less plot driven episodes, sometimes in episodes that have no direct conflict. By making Mob the most powerful character in the story since episode 1, the whole Shonen genre is thrown out the window. In most other Shonen stories, the point of the show is to show the main characters struggle to become strong to beat the bad guy. In this show, Mob is already much stronger than the bad guys, so the time in between the training arcs and long big fights are instead used to further develop the characters through interactions and "filler" events, but because the direction of focus of the anime is these types of events, it feels less like filler, and more like important aspects of the story. Mob's struggle is learning how to deal with social interactions, and his psychic powers are a manifestation of the hurdles and struggles one can deal with when trying to navigate these interactions.

None of us have psychic powers similar to Mob, none of us run a shady business like Reigen, and none of us are ghosts trying to be god like Dimple, but we all can relate to their struggles and worries, and I believe that is why Mob Psycho 100 is one of the best anime of the 2020's, and is by far my favorite.

[shkrimpies]

(Im)Perfect Blue...

There is much to be said about this film, and the messages the creator tries to convey. Overall, the movie is absolutely stupendous in visuals, music, themes and ideas.

Specifically, the framing and scene layout is used in a way to show how ingrained idol and actor life is ingrained into Mima's life, so much so that she has a hard time separating the two, which is a plight that many of us, living in a work-centric society.

As someone who is on the clock more hours than off the clock, I relate to Mima's mentality on work, and I often find myself having a difficult time separating the stresses from work and the stresses of school and everyday life.

This can be seen in one of the opening scenes, when Mima was shopping at the grocery store, and the scenes would jump to her final performance, but her either maintaining the same facial expression, or some other action, linking the two events together, similar to when she was on the train moving her hands in the same way that she dances when performing for the idol group CHAM!

This seamless form of storytelling was also integrated into the sound design of this film, which I also found to be very interesting and very much enjoyed. The way they used the sound of the fax machine printing the "Traitor" paper at the beginning if the film as the backbone to the music heard directly after was very impressive. They then used the same sound and song in many other situations when Mima felt unsafe or scared. This could be a hint to something similar to maybe some form of Trauma Mima could be feeling because of the fax she received. Throughout the movie, its implied through character action that Mima as a person does not like the profession of acting (or the people in the profession as well) so this feeling of helplessness and fear she's experiencing must be more potent, as she really has no choice in any of it, and I really like how something like sound design is being used to help convey that.

[shkrimpies]

No Regrets for our Youth

I found this movie to be very interesting in its own right. As someone who did not experience the atrocities of war, and the aftermath of group subjugation (In the sense of hating people who are not Japanese, or who are considered "spies") I cannot fully comprehend the complexities of what the characters are experiencing, however I can understand the emotions behind them.

Yukie, at the start of the movie, is hard to understand. She lives in a world where as a female, she will be at large, not "seen," as the men around her are all either fighting for freedom of education, or supporting the government-led shutdowns of college programs and classes seen as unimportant by the party. This unimportance of women can be seen through Yukie's mother, who has little to no interaction between any characters, and is given no say or voice in the things going on around her. For example, when Yukie leaves for Tokyo, the only time the mother's wishes are even considered are at the beginning of Yukie and her father's argument, when he only says "think about your mother." That's essentially the last time we even hear of the mother until the end of the movie.

This lack of support for women will change throughout the movie, as Yukie begins to be forced into experiencing the world around her on her own, working from job to job, the death of Noge, and the realization that Itokawa is married, and one of the reasons as to why Noge was captured and subsequently killed.

When Yukie returned from Tokyo, and soon left again to live with Noges' socially ostracized and shunned farming family, she begins to get some autonomy as she works in building the rice fields almost to the point of death. This nearing death can be seen as her re-birth in a sense, as after that moment, she begins to finally accept the way her life has been going, and accepts a future of manual labor, despite her upbringing of relative prosperity, saying "these hands look so much different than the hands that played this piano." I found this route to be very interesting for her character to take, as she begins to take more self-interest decisions, which during the time were seen as low and unecessary.