weyrbunny

I’m skipping the rest of this. It’s just too boring. As I caught up on eps. 2-5, it was a struggle to sit through each episode. And when I did pay attention, I was annoyed at how clichéd and simplistic the “girl cute, boy idiot” dialogue was. (Even Kaze no Stigma’s dialogue had more personality, and it’s what I use as a cliché-ridden baseline.) The few things I laughed at weren’t supposed to be funny, either. I snickered when I realized that the vow by Tatsumi and his friends to “die together” sounded like a suicide pact, for example. Just because of the irony of a popular kids’ show glorifying suicide… I also laughed when Tatsumi said something about being haunted in his dreams by gay imagery…again. Meaning, for all his played-for-laughs homophobia, Tatsumi keeps dreaming about a gay man. And you know where that leads.

Ep. 1 - Kill the Darkness The show bear’s Akame’s name, but the main character is the instantly annoying Tatsumi? Whose brilliant idea was that? Otherwise, it reminds me of Samurai 7. Well, ok, the pilot is so trope-d it reminds me of…anime, but mainly Samurai 7. If, you know, the samurai were also hot girls. There’s even a guy in a metal suit. The architecture and landscapes are beautiful, though. I found myself looking at the sky and moon whenever Tatsumi was spazzing or bragging about something. I really hope he’s not this show’s version of chibi-Seras among the gore—did not care for that on Hellsing Ultimate. I can’t mind the slow pan because a couple of my favorite shows use it, including Darker than Black. There’s entirely too much slo-mo here, though.

Ep. 24 - Past the Infinite Darkness I suppose it’s fitting that the battle is won with yelling, since there’s been so very much of it in this series. The climactic fight was so inevitable and so easily resolved that I kept losing interest, actually. My mind wandered when Ryuko put on every goku, because it reminded me of that Friends episode…the “I’m wearing everything you own” scene. Also, I just didn’t find the flaming phallus that exploded white liquid from the tip with a popping noise (aka the “ginormous rubber sock”; oh, Mako, so naïve) funny this time. I did laugh at “Thank, God. I miss my pants.” ---------- Ep. 25 - Goodbye Again Of course there’s a doomsday device under the academy. Because everything has to happen at a high school. The focus on Satsuki is nice, though, after she was a bit peripheral to the finale fight. Otherwise, this ep. was just more giant outfit and giant weapon fetishizing that fill the screen with explosions of visual noise but don’t amount to much. I snickered when big scissors fell from space, because it reminded me of GunXSword. GunXSword isn’t a great show, but the giant sword falling from space is one of its highlights. I’m realizing that Kill la Kill was definitely funnier the first time. I like it less now, having re-watched it for the subtext. BTW, this is the best summation of the debate over Kill la Kill that I’ve found: Kill La Kill: How the year's most polarizing anime became a smash hit

I’m still watching…and enjoying it, though the story is more ridiculous and oddly morose in the latest few eps. -------- Ep. 5 - The Saudade of Fools, Part 1 Is this the first time we’ve seen Hatchin’s stomach tattoo? I remember wondering in an earlier episode if Hatchin had lied about having it, simply in order to escape the awful foster family. Guess not. Well, with Michiko’s backstory filling in, the deconstruction of Dad is underway and he really doesn’t live up to the hype, as expected. Both a low-level, ineffectual gangster and a “coward”…I sense that the character will be revealed to be more than this through more flashbacks, but for now, it’s excellent that the show is going for depth. How Michiko and Hiroshi meet is fascinating too, and surprisingly not exploitive or sexist for a scene that has a topless head-butt. Not only is Michiko not ashamed of her nudity, but the men don’t say offensive things about it either (for once). And, that scene is about Michiko’s power and choice, IMO—she chooses Hiroshi. I didn’t care for the reveal/claim that Michiko is actually innocent of the murder. I really hope she won’t be whitewashed. Ep.’s best line: “Oh, you silly, busty hot-head.” -------- Ep. 6 - The Saudade of Fools, Part 2 Well, the show’s not making Michiko any smarter, that’s for sure. Gawd, the entire bullfight was ridiculous. I both felt bad for the bull and irritated that the bull wasn’t better at being…a bull. And, *eyeroll* at Michiko’s pink sword. I wasn’t that interested in the orphanage/child-trafficking subplot, either. I suppose it showed that, for Michiko, the devil she knows (her foster “mother”) is better than just abandoning Hatchin. But it was too inconsistent that Michiko suddenly couldn’t defend herself against a middle-aged woman. Ep.’s funniest line: “It appears to be a young girl, armed only with a ladle!!” -------- Ep. 7 - The Rain that Falls in Monotone Aaaannnnddd…Michiko’s not getting any better as a caretaker or parental figure, either. To a point, this was an unexpected, challenging episode that explores Michiko’s uncertainty and loneliness—what is she being faithful to by still loving Hiroshi? But it was also slow in an existential, Hemingway-novel way. With shades of Tennessee Williams thrown in. And maybe an early 80’s movie about an affair in the tropics? The name escapes me. The cigarette-lighting as surrogate kiss was provocative but nothing in comparison to Black Lagoon’s, of course! Anyway, cigarette sales may still be going strong in Japan, but in anime, I see cigarettes as a reflection of their pop culture iconography, usually. For 100+ years, the US has exported the imagery and the symbolism of the cigarette, probably even more than they still export actual cigarettes. And cigarettes were synonymous with “cool,” “criminal,” and even “American,” for that 100+ years—I once had a History professor argue that cigarettes were integral to the cultural propaganda of Casablanca, for example. So, I figure anime borrows cigarettes the way it borrows so many other pop culture or literary references.

I guess the final episode (#25) is technically an OVA, but story-wise, it’s just the next episode. So, too bad Toonami didn’t pony up/secure it, whatever. -------------- Ep 23 – Imitation Gold So the big ball of evil lifefiber’s mouth is flower-shaped on the outside and sarlacc teeth on the inside? Huh. Actually some beautiful artwork here. I think I was able to appreciate the art for once because the ep used still images and slow scrolls in certain scenes, instead of the usual frenzied, frantic, blood-shower editing. “We’re like a big naked sitting duck out here”—funny line, but I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about whether or not ducks are always naked. Except Donald Duck. Like mother, like daughter: the ease with which Ragyo out-plans Satsuki and Ryuko is pretty repetitive of all the times when Satsuki out-planned and out-maneuvered the rest of the characters. Still wish they’d come up with something more original.

Ep. 22 - Tell Me How You Feel “She was gonna make the Earth wear a sweater?” When you say the “epic,” apocalyptic, evil plan out loud like that, it really does sound dumb. At least it made me laugh. I liked Satsuki's coat, though it contradicted the rest of the 'rebeling against clothes' plot. There seem to be exceptions for coats and labcoats. Were the kamuis always able to fly? With rockets in the shoes? Yeah, that was hysterical. That it was a church doorhandle hitting him made it funnier somehow, IMO. Ryuko’s groom in her delusion is a…lifefiber bloodclot, yarn ball, what? Creepy, either way.

Killed some time catching up… ---------------- Ep. 20 - Far from the Madding Crowd “Are you going to fight me or talk my ears off?” Talk, definitely talk. Every character should be earless by now. And, gawd, there was so much yelling blame and yelling character propping, and yelling…whatever. Ryuko certainly has a penchant for stupid-looking motorcycles. She’s stolen how many now? ---------------- Ep 21 – Incomplete I guess this is the Satsuki vs. Ryuko girlfight that the show was been leading to, but it’s just too formulaic for me to find it interesting. And everyone kept overexplaining their actions while they were fighting. I can’t stand sports announcers—maybe this is why I was also unimpressed by it all. I’m still surprised that the show managed to come up with an actual rationale for the stripper clothes on teenagers, though: thongs minimize contact between the lifefibers and Ryuko and Satsuki, which makes the kamuis less harmful to them. It fits, as an explanation, but also *eyeroll*. Mako usually functions as the Greek chorus character in Kill la Kill, but in ep. 21, I noticed that Annoying Eyepatch Girl also seems to fill that role. She keeps popping up to recap prior events, she meta comments, making fun of the characters and show, and she keeps reminding Ryuko, etc. what their motivation is supposed to be. Or maybe she’s Mako’s Greek chorus: “Thank God, what a pest” is how she responds after Mako finishes one of her own Greek chorus moments, and she was indeed the audience-surrogate in that moment.

Finally got around to checking this out. It’s fun, and I saw Shinichiro Watanabe’s name in the credits, so yeah, I’m in. ------------ Ep. 1 - Farewell, Cruel Paradise! I know that the point is to show Little Orphan (H)ana being bullied from all sides, but she’s kind’ve lacking basic survival instincts. Kids build up avoidance and defense mechanisms, for example. Hana is just a little too virtuous…martyr-like. I’m trying to remember if this is how Dickens novels begin. Heh. He’s expecting hordes of jealous kidnappers after his money—maybe that’s a narcissist’s “bear.” The speed with which the Padre makes Hana’s “mother’s” visit about him and his money is hysterical, actually. Seriously, it’s half a sentence. Strongest dinner table ever. Or, really crappy moped. When did the one-raised-pant leg thing begin? The 80s? ------------ Ep 2 – The Brown Sugar Outlaw How tiresome: the episode hit the sexist, racist, homophobic trifecta. Remember the “Knock it off!” campaign with Wanda Sykes? I wanted a “Knock it off, Japan!” PSA as soon as Michiko started reframing the entire story, her and Hana’s entire reason for being, around a man. The scene where Michiko itemizes Hana’s physical features and places value on them based on whether they reflect the man…Gah!! There’s no way Dad can live up to all this hype. ------------ Ep 3 - Like a Frantic Pinball She changes clothes so much here, I’ve started calling her “Blaxploitation Barbie” in my head. (With vintage motorcycle accessory sold stolen separately.) Michiko, or the animators, enjoyed playing dressup. I’m enjoying Monica Rial’s voice work, BTW. There are moments when you can tell Michiko is lying or disappointed, with the voice as the only clue. Rial adds a lot of depth to simple dialogue, like in the scene where Michiko realizes it’s not Hiroshi. Michiko’s drawing of Hatchin scaring strangers—hee! ------------ Ep 4 – Stray Cat Milky Way “All Power to the Black Peopre”—so close!! Michiko, stripper heckler. And once again the show pits women against each other. The way the scenes are connected, it’s like Michiko is mad/frustrated over Hiroshi (the man) and takes it out on the nearest woman, too. (Knock it off, Japan!) Interesting that the story repositions Michiko and Hatchin as sisters—in parallel to Pepe and her sister—after implying mother and daughter before. I noticed the shift when Pepe repeated dialogue to her sister that Michiko said to Hatchin in ep. 3. Or at least paraphrased it. Any connection to “Stray Dog Strut”, ep 2 of Cowboy Bebop, I wonder? You used the phrase Generic Church of Anime once to describe I-can’t-remember-which other show. I’m thinking that about covers it.

Heh. That's a good summation of it actually, Sandman87. There's a fair amount of analysis that argues Kill la Kill is subverting ecchi by trying to out-ecchi the ecchi genre. But I don't really see the subversion or appropriation. I see crotch close-ups played for laughs, which is in no way new or different. I have seen an ecchi anime that subverts romantic comedy and ecchi tropes, BTW: B Gata H Kei. Lantern7, there are various articles and interviews outlining KLK's themes, references, homages to classic fight scenes, etc. Perhaps some of it is in them? Most are brimming with spoilers though, which is why I've avoided linking. Oh, I just discovered the Big List of Pop Culture References in KLK. Posting it since it's only for episodes 1-14.

Ep. 18 – Into the Night The ideas and artistic homages are certainly deep, but it’s just too bad that the execution is so…tiresome and misogynistic. I don’t want or expect Kill la Kill to be serious; I do want it to not be teen rebellion cliché with a side of plot, fanservice, plot, fanservice, plot, plot, plot. And there’s so much talking and exposition in ep. 18 that, regardless of how interesting the ideas are, it becomes monotonous. They talked so long here, I literally forgot there was a battle. Poor writing, to say the least. Things that amused me: All of Mako’s souvenirs are food. Satsuki’s shoulder pads are made for impaling. Wearing her daughter’s clothing makes the mom (Ragyo) more evil. Bonus points for baby-flushing. Don’t see that very often. Wait, they talked for a month?! That’s worse than I thought. Oh, you mean later… Ep. 19 - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head It’s raining…men’s suits. And it’s almost an army of Saturday Night Fever suits. Too bad they didn’t stick to the iconography. I wondered if the white suits transforming into harp shapes was a reference to something. Only one thing amused me here: Mako’s mom’s eyes drifted penis-ward whenever Nudist Beach were in the room. The clichéd dialogue got on my nerves, otherwise, and the groping and spanking…let’s call it what it was: sexual abuse. And it just makes my point about the show's poor choices. See, ep. 19 had really interesting ideas about humans rejecting God (Ryuko, at the end, denouncing Senketsu) and girls rejecting their parents’/abusers’ legacies (both Satsuki and Ryuko) and yet it was wrapped in the very titillation the show thinks it’s subverting. OK, I’m bringing the room down, so I’ll stop there.

Now I wish I'd watched Ouran with your commentary. It's supposedly loaded with puns and wordplay like that. I get some of the jokes and visual humor, but the rest fly over my head. Tvtropes.org had some listed, but they were scattered last time I checked.

I will forever associate Faerie Tale Theatre with Robin Williams, though he was only in the first episode (The Tale of the Frog Prince). I think the Frog Prince appeared in the opening credits for a while, so that could be why I always think of him. Eric Idle narrated the Frog Prince, BTW. He also appeared in/narrated The Pied Piper of Hamelin in Season 4. Did anyone else notice Don Swayze as a dancing extra in Cinderella? He's uncredited, but he danced by enough times to be recognizable. I didn't know that Taylor Negron had passed away in January until looking him up just now. That's too bad.

I haven’t watched a Michael Bay movie in years, but that video makes me think they’ve gotten worse. I did chuckle at the characters having sex in the elevator without apparently noticing the other guy was trapped in there with them. At the other end of the spectrum, the Regular Show Brilliant Century Duck Crisis Special anime spoof with Evangelion-style credits from last Spring. (Video not available) (Audio may be better on DailyMotion.)

So it's merely a coincidence? Then it's a relevant one, at least. And, dude, do you just look for semordnilaps out of habit or what? :-)

Catching up… Ep 16 – The Girl Can’t Help It OK, so, I like the ideas behind the life fibers. They took the clichés “that dress is wearing you” and “slave to fashion” and made them literal. Which is kinda fun. And I never thought Kill la Kill could come up with an actual point for all the high-school-goku-blah-blah in the first arc, so I was pleasantly surprised that there was one. I do wish the story was more original than mostly substituting life fibers for the obelisk in 2001: A Space Odyssey, though. I also enjoyed the montage of historical, cartoonish fashion. Odd they stopped with 80’s Michael Jackson. Unless the school uniform is supposed to represent the next evolution of clothing? Or Kill la Kill is just stuck in the 80s. BTW, is the episode title referencing the Little Richard song from the 1970s or the Journey song from 1986? And, what does the show have against Reeboks? The recap in the prologue was also entertaining. I cynically realized afterwards though that it was a mini info-dumb priming the audience to be more receptive to the endless exposition that followed. ------------------ Ep 17 – Tell Me Why Huh. Macbeth quote. (“Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”) I suppose that was foreshadowing that Satsuki wasn’t as she appeared. After the gross fanservice/groping/bathing/chakra-alignment scene in ep. 16, I fully support Satsuki stabbing her mother. Kill la Kill is an extended argument against school uniforms, isn’t it? They’re a fascist suppression of individualism and suck the life from students, literally. (Formal wear is the adult uniform, I suppose.) Ep. 17 went kind’ve arena rock at the end. When they stood around in matching outfits, Satsuki’s team looked like Liberace’s backup band or something. Not taking them seriously, ever. I’d forgotten that Mohawk Guy’s gun looks like a sewing machine. Heh. I still don’t get the DTR joke. Cultural reference?

I’ve been gradually watching Ouran for the past couple months. It’s an old favorite and one of the few anime that I love every episode of. Damn, is it laugh-out-loud funny. And so smart. For the uninitiated—“Commoners!”—Ouran High School Host Club is a character-driven, romantic comedy about an after-school club at a fancy prep school. But mostly it makes fun of and subverts anime tropes, fanservice, cosplay, you name it. By being a meta-comedy, by making fun of the right things, it somehow manages to balance being preposterously silly and emotionally profound. Which makes it outstanding! Other-Things-I-Love-About-Ouran Speed Round: Banana Peel! Look out!! Haruhi, the main character, is an intelligent, self-possessed and snarky young woman. The others characters (and show) constantly make fun of the male romantic lead, Tamaki. He may be a special-snowflake golden boy, but he’s also a complete nut. So refreshing. The “who is he talking to?” running gag. It reminds me so much of the “Him? Her?” jokes on Arrested Development. The pink bunny mushroom cloud of doom. The classical music, including (I think) Mouret’s Rondeau, the Masterpiece Theatre theme. Mori, the stoic character, is so strong and silent that when he sees a bikini he really likes, he…grunts. “I’m not sure moe was the best way to wrap things up.” When they flash to Tamaki’s thought process and it’s just a screaming dinosaur. Kyoya paints not only outside the frame but a giant mural, using every color in the rainbow. This exchange: “What are you doing?” “Building a hamster nest.” “You don’t have a hamster.” (Seriously, Tamaki is so bonkers.) And, last but not least: Beelzenef.

Caught up on Kill la Kill’s second arc this week—eps 13-15, that is. I can’t say it improves on rewatch, really. Agreed. For almost every episode. I wouldn’t find the show nearly so off-putting it wasn’t such an earache and headache, I suspect. What does interest me is how Kill la Kill compares to Ouran Host Club, and why I love one and not the other. To explain: a few weeks after I marathoned Kill la Kill last Spring, I watched an episode of Ouran; to my surprise, I noticed many similarities. Both shows are totally frantic and frenetic, both are ridiculous and filled with ridiculous characters, both are meta, both thrive on over-the-top overreactions…the list goes. But Ouran is so much funnier, cleverer, more emotionally complex—it’s just better. I almost always prefer sci-fi/action anime over teen romantic comedies, but definitely not in this case.

Did BBCA edit down this episode too much? Because I remember the clues to the group's falling apart being evident in the Amazon UK version—Reid's turn to the dark side at the end of series 2 was the tipping point. If so, it's too bad. The hour-plus running time on this episode really helped, IMO. Oh, I just found mention of the "amazon cut" having exclusive, extended scenes that won't air, so I might have answered my own question.

Huh? Wha? Thanks for the compliment, @radishcake.

Yes and yes! This fight doesn't supplant either of my 2 favorite close-quarter fights (one in Unleashed, the other in Charlie Jade), but it does come in a strong third. There was something physically...witty about it. The pauses as Matt leaned on the wall, the stumbling backwards, the door breaking as he stepped on it—when I watched the fight a second time to take in the details, I saw not just that they let realism seep in, but also humor. And also I laughed when someone threw a microwave. The spotlight-attached-to-the-camera lighting and the green walls in that fight scene made me think of the Fiona Apple video for Criminal, of all things.

Going in, I had low expectations, expectations that they were just going to Dark-Knight another superhero. But then the early scene in the confessional reminded me of Alec Baldwin's riveting monologue in Heaven's Prisoner's. Instantly, I got my hopes up. It's really a relief that Daredevil is really good. (At least the 2 episodes I've watched so far are.) Anyway, I'm in. Busy weekend, but I'll find the time. Whenever I see Toby Leonard Moore, I think "Hey, it's that guy from Dollhouse!" even though I've seen him in The Pacific and a couple other shows since. I like his performance here. He's taking a stock character and making him charismatic and interesting. Well done, That-Guy.

I watched a handful of episodes of...I can't tell which Avengers show. It was on after late-night Ultimate Spider-Man reruns? Back when Disney XD was burning off Tron: Uprising in the middle of the night? Neither of these facts is helping me Google. I don't remember any distinguishing details, either–the Hulk and Iron Man were fighting...something. Mostly I remember finding Peter Parker's inner monologue funny for once on Spider-Man and being annoyed that Tron: Uprising was cancelled just as it was getting awesome. Anyway, thanks for the recommendation. I'll add Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes to my never-shortening list of shows to watch. The thought of this made me smile. And then I realized that I was happy about someone drawing one fictional character rescuing another fictional character, which made me question my choices in life for a second. But then I got over it.

I think of them as "JJ Abrams-ed". It just dawned on me where I'd heard "kamui" before: the CLAMP anime X. Hell, every fifth word in X was "KAMUI!!" How'd I forget that? The word's meaning - god, divine, spirit - seems relevant here, now that I think about it.

What episode is Toonami on now? I might be interested in rewatching the second arc. With the volume turned way down.

I totally forgot to post about Kids on the Slope! I loved it, and not just because it’s a Shinichiro Watanabe anime. It’s a wonderfully poignant story about friendship and family set in the 1960s. It’s about cultural change and conflict in way that I haven’t seen much of in anime. In reality, Kids on the Slope doesn’t say anything new about the 60s, but it still manages to surprise both in its plot and its emotional depth. And also there’s lots and lots of Jazz. The music is incredible, though the soundtrack won’t supplant Cowboy Bebop or Wolf’s Rain or even Darker than Black on my list of favorite Yoko Kanno soundtracks. (Not that that should take away from the Kids on the Slope soundtrack in any way.) As for Watanabe’s direction…there are a couple fight scenes early on that are creative in way that announces that this is a Watanabe show. But then the story settles into drama, and the direction becomes more staid. Except for the music scenes. I realized late in the series that the jam sessions were seriously visually complex—they’re the show’s action sequences, it turns out, and so they are where Watanabe’s direction excels. I did have to adjust to the show’s character design, which annoyed me at the beginning. I had difficulty telling characters apart because they have the exact same face but with different hair—both boys and girls. I’m guessing this was a stylistic choice, but it started to feel like just poor artistic range. It also distracted me that one of the teenagers looked like a 30-year-old longshoreman. That his look was intentional and even an important plot point made me forgive everything, though. Anyway, as I mentioned in the earlier post, I didn’t make it through Kids on the Slope when it first aired. So, I am so glad I gave it a second chance. It’s bittersweet, but wonderfully so. It also manages to make double entendres like “I want your enormous talent” funny for once. Now that’s rare in anime.