Haibane.info

Category: Anime

  • Escaflowne

    … was awful.

    In a nutshell, mystical world existing in parallel to our own, schoolgirl recruited from ordinary life in which she doesn’t fit in, to play a role in prophecy therein. Schoolgirl learns something about herself and changes her attitude. World is saved by love.

    Oh and let’s also mention that arrival into new world occurs via immersion in mystical water and then breaking out of a giant cocoon. And girl gets wings.

    There is the super badass armor that drinks blood, the ultimate fighter badass who is really a dethroned king, and the bad guy who seeks total annihilation for no good reason.

    Throw in some utterly pointless magical ability and some big flying dirgible warships, and a catgirl.

    A waste of time all around. Thanks, Netflix Recommendation Engine!

  • The Cat Returns (Neko no Ongaeshi)

    I snagged this title off of Netflix for Daughter Otaku, though Baby Otaku has been rather entranced by it as well. In a nutshell, this is your standard Studio Ghibli – girl protagonist, who must learn to belkieve in herself, as she faces supernatural threats with the help of a heroic mentor. Directed by Hiroyuki Morita rather than Miyazaki himself, it’s not on the level of Totoro, but it’s close, in that it makes you smile while you watch it, and leaves you feeling unreasonably happy after it’s over. In fact the spirit of this film is probably epitomized by the catchy ending theme, which some enterprising otaku has put to video with scenes from the movie on YouTube:

    My daughter is rewinding the ending theme as we speak, repeatedly, trying to memorize the lyrics. In Japanese. (This is the same child who, as a toddler, overdosed on Totoro. Let it not be said that Studio Ghibli are not masters of their craft).

    Highly recommended. If you like Totoro, you will appreciate this. It’s not an equal, but it is a peer.

  • Ranma season 3, 4

    I am halfway thru season 4. It got a LOT better. In retrospect season 3, while often repetitious and tiresome, was critical backstory for a lot of the secondary characters who really are all given their own chance to shine and even mature – even Kuno, and Happosai. There has only been one worthless episode thus far in season 4, and it’s no coincidence that a certain psychotic kawaii-obsessed figure skater made a return appearance therein.

    Unfortunately the discs I was watching, which were lent to me, only go 1/2way thru season 4. I also have the discs for the OAV and its pretty good (though i do like season 4 better). There *is* a discontinuity in Akane/Ranmas relationship between season 4 and the OAV, in that its clear that they are closer – for one thing, Akane gets hurt by Ranma’s insensitivity a lot more deeply than before. So clearly there was a lot of growth in between (season 5 – 7) that I have missed out on. I am going to have to download fansubs to continue.

    And Ryoga. Ranma is cool, but Ryoga at his best is who I want to be. Minus the pig part, that could be a bit problematic for me in particular. Unfortunately watching the OAV has dashed my hopes of an Ukyo-Ryoga matchup.

  • a tale of ef

    I gave it a try, trying the recommended fansubs and the latest VLC and everything, but just couldn’t get ef: a tale of memories to work past three or four episodes. So, my thoughts are incomplete, admittedly, and surely unfair, because in the episode just after the one I gave up on for technical difficulties, the story probably soared, all became clear, and hearts were duly wrenched. That said, my impressions of the part I did see were not, on the whole, good. And here is why, below the spoiler fold.

    (UPDATE: I also reply below to some points in Pete’s post)

    (more…)

  • Ranmathon

    Starting season 4. Season 3 was a lot of one-off episodes, but season 4 is beginning an arc again and it’s really much improved. The Akane-Ranma relationship still doesn’t seem stuck in neutral, it’s clear that it is proceeding, but even more interesting is the evolution of almost everyone else. Ryoga and Ukyo still are my favorites, though.

    And this arc in season 4, with the Blast of the Heavenly Dragon, is truly suspenseful. I wish the art would catch up to the writers, but I’ve seen some clips from seasons ahead so I know it gets better. Patience, grasshopper!

    obligatory Youtube remix of Kung Fu Fighting:

    and this one seems drawn from the OVA, set to the tune of Mortal Kombat. It has me quite eager to get through the slog of these intermediate seasons because it is clear that Shampoo, Mousse, even Kuno have a lot more evolution ahead.

  • Tsubasa!

    Steven, there were a lot wierder scenes than that one!

    I’m enjoying the introduction of Ukyo. I can’t wait for Ukyo and Shampoo to square off now. The parade of suitors is far from wearing thin in my opinion, if they can continue the novelty factor. And the novelty of Tsubasa pretty much takes the cake.

    Why did Ranma try so hard to compete with Tsubasa, and take the “dog” insult so hard? My theory is that Ranma on some level was reacting in competitive manner as a male. In a sense, Ranma’s objection aside, they really are into the same stuff.

    I’ve now completed the first disc of season 3. The episodes with Ukyo, Ryoga, and Tsubasa were as good as anything in season 2. Gotta agree with Ranma – Ukyo is way more kawaii than Akane. The episode with Shampoo was boring. The episode with Happosai was garbage.

  • Samurai Ranma

    I just finished the Three Urns arc and had a total blast. Why am i enjoying this? Steven meanwhile is having buyer’s remorse, arguing that there just isn’t enough plot to fill a series of this length. However, i think that the plot staples of hair matches and treasure hunts works well enough. What was great about the Urn arc was that a lot of characters made a return, we got to see Ryoga interact with Kuno, for example, and Kodachi square off against Mousse (who played fowl). Brief, to be sure, but still fun. I also think there’s a lot of ground to cover in fleshing out Ryoga, who is clearly destined to be Ranma’s ally and friend. The arc of how he gets there is a long one no doubt. The ensemble cast is large enough that all the characters might end up with a role to play. I certainly hadn’t expected Shampoo to stick around this long. And of course with N characters there are N^2 possible pairings in terms of conflict or alliance. 2*N^2 if you allow for both.

    As far as the treasure hunts go, I’m cool with knowing they are destined to fail. The suspense is not if, but how. The ending to the Urn arc was awesome, it had that whole meta, Douglas Adams vibe to it. And I also speculate that there’s no way that Ranma will ever lift his curse (I may be wrong, don’t spoil me). So the purpose of the treasure hunts are more for Ranma’s acceptance of his fate, than for my need for plot resolution. And they provide just wonderful backdrops for all the minor characters to shine, and interact.

    For some reason I am reminded of Samurai Jack. Here too is a series where the basic plot is recycled: treasure hunts, or liberation of group/race X from Aku’s clutches. And here too I have my doubts as to whether samurai Jack will ever succeed – his goal of going back in time to stop Aku would just be too much of a reset. All the suffering that Aku has inflicted on Earth is real. Can it be washed away? I don’t see how that squares with the idea central to the series that one man makes a difference. If Jack resets the world, then all of his own efforts in the future also become meaningless.

    Ranma plays the hero for laughs, whereas Jack plays it for drama. But in the end, the two of them have the same general problem. In trying to solve it, they drag reality along, and it’s in their wake that the real stories are told.

  • a continuity issue

    odd. I mentioned earlier that one of the reasons Shampoo’s entrance weighs so heavily on Akane is because Ranma had defended her honor as his fiancee during the skating championship. But that doesn’t happen until after the 1st Shampoo arc. However, Akane flashbacks to it anyway! Here’s a screen grab from Akane’s flashback in the Shampoo introduction episode as proof.

    akane flashbacks to the future

    Pretty sure that’s the ice skating rink. Wierd.

  • Kuno the impermanent

    I decided to start Ranma over. I hadn’t been taking the first disc seriously, and then I really only got into it around the second disc, so I felt like I had missed out. On rewatch it all hangs together much more, you can actually see that the long term arc of Ranma and Akane is fairly well planned even if the episodic rhythm verges on manic. For example, we needed the absurd martial arts competitions to establish the pair’s emotional bond, which fully culminated in Ranma’s declaration taking “ownership” of Akane’s honor (during the skating championship). Only then could Shampoo’s arrival cause such emotional havoc (physical destruction notwithstanding).

    I’m up to the review episode after the Shampoo arc, and in the flashbacks involving Kuno, was struck by something about the rhythm of his strange poetry that he uses when making an entrance. The first time around i just thought it was just his own arcane poetry, full of sounds but meaning very little. But on second watch, the words suddenly felt like they meant something. So I googled them, and in hindsight I should not be surprised at all that these words Kuno speaks are the opening lines to Heike monogatari, the Tale of the Heike, an ancient epic from the Japanese medeival period. These opening lines are:

    The sound of the bell of the Gion Temple tolls the impermanence of all things, and the hue of the Sala tree’s blossoms reveals the truth that those who flourish must fade. The proud ones do not last forever, but are like the dream of a spring night. Even the mighty will perish, just like the dust before the wind.

    I do not lay claim to being even a fraction of a connoisseur on Japanese history and culture, but it occurs to me that for Kuno to speak these lines, given his character, is supremely ironic.

    UPDATE: Japanese Culture by H. Paul Varley, apparently a well-respected text, is online at Google Book Search and discusses the Heike in much more detail. I just might have to buy this book.

  • vengeance upon den Beste

    you know the reason I started this blog was because a certain someone got me addicted – and I mean ADDICTED – to Haibane Renmei. Steven wasn’t content to hit me with that alone, though – I also got a triple bolus of Sugar Snow Fairy and Someday’s Dreamers to course like crack through my fledgling otaku mind.

    Now he has done it again. I was actually done with Ranma. I suffered through the first disc and swore off it for good. Then along comes SDB, reviews a few episodes, and i decide well, maybe, just maybe I should give it another chance.

    Behold what his machinations have wrought. I actually enjoyed the Martial Arts Figure Skating arc. I thought Asuza was hilarious. I thought the plot of the Ramen / Delivery Martial Arts episode was clever and was genuinely surprised when (and this is no spoiler) Ranma has to step in for Akane. I am 5 minutes into the Cat Phobia episode, and realized I was enjoying it far too much for any reasonable standard of sanity. All of this, while SDB actually claims burnout! Diabolical fiend!

    What the hell. I’m going to find some manner of revenge. I’m going to get Steven to watch Robotech. You’ve been duly warned, old man.