Link of the Day [10.09.13]
An anime featuring moe versions of Imperial Japanese Navy vessels? I’m on it!
“We send a reporter to the scene, he asks the transit police if he can go into the tunnel, they say no, he says okay, I go on the air every eight minutes and say, ‘Still no news on that disabled train.'”
Pulled from the Shelves: From Up on Poppy Hill
The great animation director Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement this past week. He’ll be sorely missed, but if Ghibli continues to make animated films as lovely as From Up on Poppy Hill, the studio is in good hands.
From Up on Poppy Hill is directed by Miyazaki’s son, Goro Miyazaki. The father wrote the screenplay based on a shojo manga from the early 80s. Ghibli films are known for their leading ladies. Choosing a shojo manga heroine is natural. Although, this is the first time one can say that Ghibli is doing a moe film.
Moe? Yes. It’s got plenty of tropes from anime of the last few years: twin tails, seifuku, school clubs, school setting. For a second, From Up on Poppy Hill feels almost like any anime lately. That doesn’t really detract from it. I’m only noticing because of the amount of anime I’ve been watching.
The plot revolves around young love. The heroine falls for the charismatic editor of the school newspaper. She helps him in saving the old club house building from being demolished. They are meant to be together but certain family ties stand in their way.
It’s a simple film. Girl meets boy. Girl falls for boy. Boy falls for girl. They both are in love. Plain and simple.
I bought the Blu-Ray/DVD combo and I have both discs in both TVs ready to be watched. The English dub is completely different than the original Japanese. Goro Miyazaki trusts his viewers to understand what’s showing on the screen. The English dub doesn’t; it opens with a voice over from the heroine setting the scene fro the rest of movie. The Japanese version opens with just the soundtrack playing following the heroine as she wakes up, prepares breakfast, and gets ready for the day. We are meant to infer what’s happening, let the story unfold, and figure out the setting. That’s trust by showing and not telling.
Animation is not a genre. It’s a technic. This film could easily have been live action. I’m glad that Ghibli did it animated. Animation isn’t just for kids. Plenty of stories can be animated. I wish more directors chose it. Thank you Hayao Miyazaki.
4 of 5 stars.
‘You’re not in Wisconsin, Dave. The big story isn’t about a cow wandering into the town square.”
Madoka, the movie(s). Double feature in the US if you live in the places they’ll show it. Check out the website. I implore you to do it.
Link of the Day [5.25.12]
I believe it’s a free stream. Now. Start watching!
Dance in the Battlefield
Here’s an easy listening tune from the 2005 OVA anime, Area 88. Just love how night lounge-y the song is. Wish I knew what the lyrics are about and why it sounds as if she’s yearning for a love separated.
Homerun-chan
HomuHomu swing and a miss! Baseball girl is also so very moe. Also, she’s swinging a golf club.
Okay, here I go!
Homuhomu is moe.
Madoka
I’m really digging Puella Magi Madoka Magica, an anime from 2011 that is being broadcast on CrunchyRoll. I had torrented the first couple episodes last year, but never got around to finishing out the series because, you know, mahou shojo. And if you don’t know, look it up.
I may like my anime or manga in the moe vein, but I didn’t think I could get into the magical girl genre. Except, Madoka is different. I kept hearing about how it bent the magical girl genre into dark corners twisting its tropes, characterizations, and conventions into a deep, dark anime; that intrigued me. I had to catch up with it.
When I originally watched the first couple episodes last year, I couldn’t maintain interest. The character design was off-kilter and simplistic. The main character Madoka with her eyes doesn’t look appealing. She’s got a doll like face. The style just wasn’t to my liking and I probably gave up on it because of that.
On my second look, I got past my superficial first impressions and began to appreciate Madoka for its story. It’s been a wonderful run, so far, and with two episodes left (out of 12) I can’t wait.
It’s always been my hope that the few readers reading this blog would follow up on some of the anime I blog about. I wish you would watch this one; it’s pretty good.
Moe Bear-tan
Once more with a lame and meager blog post. Spinning wheels here with nothing interesting to say. So here’s a nice screencap from Amagami SS+ anime currently showing in Japan. It’s a pretty ridiculous show. It’s kind of hard to describe if you don’t want to know about it. I’m posting it for my own benefit.
Link of the Day [1.11.12]
Now if I had a movie theatre, I would give these guys a call. Dayyumm! Look at those posters. If they don’t make you want to catch at least one Ghibli film, then you must be a zombie. I would happily watch Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, or My Neighbor Totoro on the big screen. I would be giddy with pleasure.