Anime Primer

[Not Afraid]

Yes, more Ghibli to buy!!!!! Now, where is my 2-disc Totoro?

[Not Afraid]

So, via a cat that appears in several episodes of this series, I have become curious about the Trigun Series. Now, I'm not going to go out and get any huge set anytime soon, but I wonder if it is worth checking out? Or, maybe, I should just buy the T-Shirt.

I have a thing for black cats, what can I say?

[modern folly]

Originally Posted by tracilicious

I'm not well versed enough in anime to know what's good, but my favorite is Grave of the Fireflies.

I watched that when I was a wee little girl, I was a bit traumatized, and depressed afterwards. I've seen it again a couple of months ago, and I absolutely love it. I'm not too interested in anime anymore, alot of the premises for series seem to be re-hashed.

[flippyshark]

I watched STEAMBOY a couple of weeks ago, and I liked it. There has been a lot of criticism (often from Akira fans) that it was great to look at but disappointing in the story department. As a result, my expectations were low. I wound up getting a lot out of it. To be sure, it isn't nearly as fascinating as Akira, but it's probably a lot easier to absorb on first viewing.

The biggest fault with STEAMBOY is the tendency of its main characters to ramble on and on in long arguments, hammering the themes of technology and science vs. humanity into the ground. Still, well worth a rental.

I noticed that the transfer of STEAMBOY looks very dark and muted, and this seems to be intentional, making its setting of steam-punk Victorian London grimy and hazy. However, in the supplements, clips are shown in vibrant color-saturated hues. All of the extras are concerned with the American theatrical release, which caused me to wonder if perhaps the US version had been "brightened up" for American audiences. As it is, the film on the disc is longer than the US release and represent Katsuhiro Otomo's cut. Japanese language with subtitles is available, and preferable. (Interestingly, on the English language track, the young boy protagonist is voiced by The Piano's Anna Paquin.)

Trivial aside - there are characters in this movie named Scarlett O'Hara and Robert Louis Stevenson, but they don't really seem to be the same figures we are familiar with. (Stevenson could be, in an alternate universe sort of way, but Scarlett is most definitely not the Margaret Mitchell character.)

Another anime recommendation: MEMORIES
This is an anthology of three short stories, some written by and one directed by Katsuhiro Otomo.

The first segment is my favorite, MAGNETIC ROSE. Essentially a ghost story set on a derelict ship in space, it's literally operatic in its grandeur, and also delightfully chilling. What's more, it's got images and atmosphere that brought to mind my favorite film, 2001.

Segment 2 - STINK BOMB. This is a light-hearted but apocalyptically destructive tale about a regular shmoe who accidentally ingests an experimental drug and becomes a lethal human stink bomb. In truth, this segment got annoying, as the guy seems frustratingly oblivious to the fact that all living creatures around him are dying. (He's actually good for the plant life, though.)

Segment 3 - CANNON FODDER. This is the Otomo directed segment. It's actually pretty short, and a lovely piece of political satire. It offers a look at an entire society that exists for no other purpose than to load and fire enormous cannons at an unseen, and possibly non-existent, enemy. Its brevity is a strength. There is a (somewhat grotesque) young boy who serves as something of an audience identification figure, but he is kept at arms length from us emotionally. This somewhat cold-hearted essay was a practice run for techniques (and themes) used in STEAMBOY. Well worthwhile.

In any case, put MEMORIES in your queue for MAGNETIC ROSE. It's worth the price of admission.

[Not Afraid]

Thank you Flippy! And, God Bless Deluge and Monsoon's Mom.

You need to see my latest Anime cat love. He looks an awful lot like Jiji - and Buster for that matter. I NEED him.

[modern folly]

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

Thank you Flippy! And, God Bless Deluge and Monsoon's Mom.

You need to see my latest Anime cat love. He looks an awful lot like Jiji - and Buster for that matter. I NEED him.

Aw, I love Kuro Neko, he's so random on Trigun.

[Not Afraid]

But, is the series worth watching?

[modern folly]

Yes, absolutely. It's humorous, exciting, and has a storyline that runs deep as the series progresses.

[mousepod]

Glad you mentioned Memories, Flippy. I picked it up when it first came out as a Japanese R2 DVD - I haven't watched it in a long time. I'm certainly going to grab Steamboy ASAP.

BTW, the anime fans in this thread need to introduce the newbies to COWBOY BEBOP. Almost essential viewing for Swankers who dig anime...

[modern folly]

Oh yes, how could I have forgotten about Cowboy Bebop, i've loved [and still do] that series for years. The soundtrack is amazing.