Category: Anime

  • next up, for next down

    I’m barely into The Girl Who Leapt at present, but am already thinking ahead. Based on Steven’s considerable enthusiasm, and Don’s deft enticement, it’s obvious that the next title on my list should be Shingu.

    Which raises the usual ethical question: buy or download? Unlike TGWL, Shingu is available for purchase with subtitling. However, I have financial realities that I can’t ignore, especially after the expense of moving. That’s just a rationalization – anime is a voluntary pleasure, not a need, and if it comes down to diapers vs anime then obviously I’d choose the former (and believe me, there is enough projectile and explosive action on that front. don’t ask). But as a consumer I also have a philosophical objection to the present model wherein the movie industry expects me to believe that region encoding is anything other than a blatant ploy for milking profit beyond the market value of their product.

    I pretty much entirely disagree with Steven’s assertion that the fansub industry is p*ssing in the soup; with regards to the options for the studios, I’d take his choice 1 (simultaneous release to US and Japanese markets) and go even further: abolish region-encoding entirely. Steven notes that simultaneous release would

    undercut the Japanese business, because Japanese fans will start importing region 1 DVDs, paying $10 per episode instead of more than $25. Or if they try to charge Americans something like what they currently charge in Japan, titles will flop. No one here is going to pay $50 for a 2-episode DVD.

    I don’t have much sympathy for the poor studios looking at losing their $40 price gouging to their captive Japanese market. If anything, it’s region-encoding that has pissed in the soup; that alone has created the fansub industry out of whole cloth. The fouling of the soup by RE is why the pricing model is on the verge of collapse, not the actions of genuine fans who’ve done more to increase profits for the studios (by introducing their product to new markets) than undermine them.

    That said, the present law is the law, and downloading a fansub (or a legit copy) violates it. My conscience’s salve is that I will buy the title at some point if I enjoy it; I paid for full copies of Haibane Renmei and Sugar and have Someday’s Dreamers and Kino’s Journey on the list (and if TGWL ever makes it, will add that too).

    There is of course a third option; using a movie rental service like Blockbuster or Netflix (I highly recommend the former). That was how I initially sampled Serial Experiments: Lain, though I did download the final disc instead so I could watch it more conveniently on my laptop rather than cart around the portable DVD player. The issue again comes down to convenience – which is by no means a right, purely a pleasure, but I confess to being as human as the next guy. If I am paying my monthly fee for blockbuster’s mail DVD service, and a title is available there, but I download it anyway, is there a difference? That’s more of a philosophical question I guess. The bottom line is that downloading lowers the action bar for me to actually bother with a title, and if that title is a quality one, makes it likely I will buy it. If I stuck to the book and only rented titles by mail or bought them outright, the simple fact is that I’d watch less anime, and probably buy none. That’s not an excuse on my part for skirting the law, but it certainly is a factual description of outcomes that I think the studios would be wiser to tap into for their own advantage. But I am not personally concerned with the studios’ business acumen; if they choose to remain on a path that obstructs me from their product, I’ll stop consuming it, and find something else.

  • Girl Who Leapt: torrent link

    Courtesy of Nick, here is the torrent link for The Girl who Leapt Through Time. (NOTE: not hosted by me in any way). No English subtitles available.

    UPDATE: astro finds the first english-subtitled torrent of The Girl Who Leapt in the wild. Quality of the translation appears to be good, but the formatting is somewhat screwed up. I snarfed it last night but haven’t looked at it yet myself.

    Astro’s initial thoughts are strongly positive:

    TokiKake is certainly good. Having read some of the buzz about it I expected that. I didn’t expect it to impress me as much as it did, though. Right now I can’t name any flaws or distractions that might have taken away from the story. The animation is wonderful, as is the musical score. The story itself was incredible, and kept me riveted until the end.

    I’ll definitely rewatch this one, and I highly recommend it.

    Meanwhile, Nick rates it higher than any Ghibli film he’s ever seen.

    (bumped from 04/25/07)

  • The road goes ever on

    No, I’m not about to break into Hobbit song; via Don, the new Kino’s Journey movie (The Beautiful World: Byouki no Kuni – For You) is set to be released this Saturday in Japan. I assume that fansubs and then a dubbed English version will follow soon. It’s nice to actually have something to look forward to; along with The Girl who Leapt Through Time I actually have items of substance on my To Watch list.

  • Ponyo On A Cliff

    Miyazaki’s next Studio Ghibli film is going to have a lot of baggage. From the AICN summary,

    Miyaki will be addressing his relationship with his son, Tales of Earthsea director Goro Miyazaki through the movie’s boy Sosuke. Parent/child relationship will influence the movie. In particular, Hayao Miyazaki found his work informed by what as saw as Goro actor of “resistance” directing Earthsea.
    […]
    Miyazaki notes the effects of his age several times and demonstrates a strained relationship with his son.

    ok, then. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also controversy over Miyazaki’s rivalry with Yasuhiro Nakura of Girl Who Leapt Through Time fame:

    Some are accusing Miyazaki of plagiarizing the work of Yasuhiro Nakura, an animator who worked with Miyazaki on Laputa: Castle in the Sky as well Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, Metropolis and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Message board 2Chan notes similarities to the book “The world of Nakura Yasuhiro.”

    There’s a lot more information, about the film as well as the meta, at GhibliWorld.

  • the girl who leapt through time

    This writeup at AICN immediately caught my interest:

    titular heroine Makoto Konno gains the ability to physically leap and land in a chosen point in her past. Initially she uses the ability as an instrument of escapism, spending her time pursing inconsequential activities and goals. As chaos theory, unintended consequence and the momentum of life conspire to confront Makoto, she is forced to make more significant alterations. What was light hearted, laugh out loud, slapstick hardens into gut twisting drama. As the compounding repercussions become evident, the film taps into powerful emotions felt either in retrospect or in anxiety when concerning the effects of action and inaction in the pivotal moments of one’s life.

    The review also raves about the fluid quality of the animation. Has anyone seen it? I’ll look for it on BT tonight…

  • counting flowers

    Moved by the discussion at astro’s place, Nick went flower-counting in Cat Soup.

    As I mentioned at astro’s: (spoilers)

    (more…)

  • Nyaako and Nyatta’s excellent adventure

    “There are some things in painting which cannot be explained, and that something is essential.” – Pierre Auguste Renoir

    I finished Cat Soup. I have to admit it was quite a trip. Acid trip, perhaps. In a nutshell, the story is simple; Nyatta rescues part of his sister Nyaako’s soul from Death and must embark on a quest to restore her fully. The two set out on the quest, and encounter God along the way. It’s very, very difficult to really say more about this title because it’s so surrealistic in nature; I quickly found that the best way to approach it was to treat it like a work of art and not a narrative. (more…)

  • Cat Soup

    Via Nick, this anime title was brought to my attention. The description at ANN is compelling:

    Plot Summary: Cat Soup is an extremely difficult film to describe, due to its awesome surrealism and almost nonexistent dialogue. It is more a work of art than an anime. There are many underlying themes, such as the transience of man’s existence, but it can be enjoyed without understanding any of them. The plot, though simple, isn’t necessarily understandable without being explained. The main character, a cat named Nyatto, embarks upon a journey to save his sister’s soul, which was ripped in two when Nyatto tried to save her from Death. She trails after him, brain-dead. They encounter many brilliant, mind-bending situations, beginning with a disturbing magic show.

    Given that the show contains sex, drugs, and extreme graphic violence, it’s not exactly kawaii-safe. Though you wouldn’t know that from some of the visuals: (more…)

  • Lain: Knights

    Nothing has really gelled for me yet. Its like a collection of random vignettes. In some ways it’s more fragmented than Kino’s Journey. The only thing I think I understand is what happened to Mika, Lain’s sister. Spoilers below the fold.

    (more…)

  • Lain disc 2

    I’m starting it this week. Since my insight after watching disc 1, I find myself suddenly eager. I didn’t get a chance to rewatch disc 1 with that theory in mind, but it’s still fresh in my mind.

    I’m cognizant of astro’s critique of my attitude – I certainly admit to thinking (too) hard about Lain rather than just sitting back and enjoying it. Part of that might be the expectation that others’ reviews of the title created – this is supposed to be a deeply insightful and intellectual piece of work, inviting analysis, unlike Haibane Renmei which is an emotional and spiritual roller coaster ride from the outset. I need to stop comparing it to HR, and I am going to make more effort at making less effort for disc 2.