Alastor's Reflection

Counterpoint: Anime isn’t all about moe *GASP!*

Ξ March 21st, 2009 | → 4 Comments | ∇ The Anime Annals |

For those visitors wondering about why the anime-centric tilt of Alastor’s recently, the reasons are that it’s really the only medium capable of distracting me from Real Life Issues. Presently I can’t feel comfortable playing computer games, listening to music, watching movies, reading, or especially managing the concentration necessary to write while my life is in such turmoil (see posts below for further explanations), therefore entries on those topics have been rare. Only the study of anime has proven sufficient to pull me out of my crisis-mode; it’s the only remedy that keeps me from staying stuck in this depressing rut I’ve been in since last March. Without going into further detail, it’s really gotten so very tiresome to continually be dwelling on the survive-or-die routine that I need what relief and delight that this form of entertainment provides. Besides, if I repeatedly kept posting about Things That Aren’t Changing (such as current RL events or the novel’s lack-of-publication progress), it would bore you silly. So, this:

Now that The 2009 International Saimoe League is in full swing with three rounds of the first period under its belt, I wanted to add a voice of dissent here. Although there are quite a few series that do have characters that can be described as being moe, there are many others featuring mature, feisty, aggressive, and independent women who most likely would righteously kick your ass if described with any of the gentler attributes of moe. A few that come to mind are Revy from Black Lagoon, Madlax from her self-titled series, and even Lucy from Elfen Lied  (although “little Lucy” and Nyu, her alter-ego, certainly do have their considerable “moe-ments”).

And while the moe-centric series do seem to focus on younger protagonists, there are many other genres that put on display the startling diversity that anime provides with regard to differing character-types, which amid all this prevalent focus on moe gets lost in the shuffle. This includes such dark fare as Ergo Proxy, Gilgamesh, and the latest mind-blower of a series, Kara no Kyoukai (aka “Garden of Sinners”), to name but a few.  (Note that the wiki links contain spoilers!)

For those of you who still assume that anime is only suited for children and immature people, I have two things to say: When you ASSUME, you make an ASS out of U and ME. It’s true. Second, these following anime music videos (AMVs), featuring Shiki from Kara no Kyoukai, should shatter any remaining misperceptions (though they’ll spoil you a bit if you plan to watch this series of seven movies, of which five have been translated and subtitled). Neither of them show off the clever writing, ingenious storytelling, or dialogue though; I’ll leave it to you to discover

First up, courtesy of pixeltune, is a tribute to Ryougi Shiki using the hauntingly beautiful “Shiki’s Theme” by composer Yuki Kajiura as the background music (watch both of these in HD and Full-Screen!!!):

Next is an AMV made by RadicalxYue entitled “Incubus”, using as the BGM “Can’t Sleep” by Above and Beyond. It focuses more on the complex relationship between Shiki and Kokutou Mikita, as explained in his video’s YT page:

Both of these videos employ rapid cutting and editing to provoke the same sense of disorientation and wonder that the series does, using the music as a second layer of “canvas”. Kara no Kyoukai really is at the pinnacle of anime today, due in no small part to the amazing direction and studio ufotable’s masterful techniques in storytelling, combined with its highly dramatic score and empathic, convincing voice-acting.

For those visitors unfamiliar with the medium/hobby/lifestyle, please bear the following in mind as you set out on your journey of discovery: Anime is just like any other medium; you have to wade through a lot of crap to discover the gems, but those jewels that you do find will be quite memorable and so very much worth keeping (and buying when possible). Really, it’s very similar to reading any similarly-themed (choose your own) book or story, or any other movie or show, only animated, and consisting of genres and characters of all stripes.  You can appreciate CGI films such as Finding Nemo or WALL-E, can’t you? Well… it’s not so far a stretch. Due to budgetary restraints and the costs of producing  the average 12-26 half-hour episode series the animation is simply simpler; more importantly, you get stories easily as moving and wonderful, and as memorable as those fancier movies. And in many cases, more so. Substance over flash is a good thing

Note that many film directors, writers, actors, and musicians (not to mention countless numbers of your fellow-citizens) already have long-held favorites and are well aware of the many merits inherent in anime. Ask yourself: what do they know that you don’t?  They know this: It is much more than the heavily-promoted and merchandised juvenile pap that is the rule over here in the West

So, go forth and seek! What I’d suggest to newbies is the following:

(1) Find a good general-purpose encyclopedic and ratings site such as Anime News Network to view rankings, synopses, and genres, and pick a title that might suit you.

(2) Download the latest Combined Community Codec Pack and install it to play the episodes through its Media Player Classic app at high quality (which I highly recommend). Much better than Real Player or Windows Media Player is (and not as obtrusive). And, safe

(3) Google search the titles for the initial subtitled episodes to direct-download and sample, and if what you find suits you, either buy the series or if unavailable (as many seem to be) obtain the rest in like fashion. Torrenting may be more your style, but most likely if that’s the case then you won’t need this primer Finding a reliable site might take some doing but they’re out there; regard the resulting addresses carefully for consistency and content. Be smart about it! (And I want to add that by supporting the artists and creators the hobby will continue to survive and grow, so don’t just leech simply because the episodes are “free”. This is a sore subject with me but will remain on the table for discussion at a later date. It’s a very slippery slope nowadays and balance is required.)

(4) Finally, ENJOY! Find a good site for discussion (and etc) such as AnimeSuki Forum (my favorite; but pay as little attention as possible to those jaded, cynical, and egotistic trolls; you know how The Internet is these days :-/

Expand your horizons; you’ll find that they go much farther than your eye can see

from 5 Centimeters Per Second by Makoto Shinkai

And that, also, is a Very Good Thing…

The 2009 International Saimoe League

Ξ March 11th, 2009 | → 6 Comments | ∇ The Anime Annals |

International Saimoe League 2009 Logo

For those Visitors to whom Anime is a way of life: On Monday, March 16 2009, the new season of the International Saimoe League tournament will begin with its first matches. Last year’s epic tourney concluded on November 4th with Fate Testarossa being declared the winner of the coveted Tiara. Who will win it all this year? Now’s the chance to get involved from the start and support your favorite anime girl (considering that she’s actually moe of course)!

The overview and introduction at the official site will get you started and explain the proceedings, along with the roster of 64 contestants including the 27 who were nominated over the first few months of this year. (Their little pics contain links to biographical and tournament histories as well.) It was a long and hard-fought nominations process; some new-to-ISML girls I favored and nominated with votes made it (Misuzu from Air, Kanon‘s Makoto, and Chii from Chobits), while others didn’t (most notably ef‘s Yuuko and Chihiro). Inevitably, there is a lot of heartbreak and despair to deal with throughout the year…

FUN!

Each girl will face off against another contestant once over the course of the year’s 63 regular matches, advancing (hopefully) to the double elimination period, and then on to the semi-finals and and finally the finals. There’s also a fair amount of finality involved, as you can see. It gets pretty ugly.

Last year I kept a spreadsheet, courtesy of one of the administrators, and so kept tally of the girls I voted for most often. The top twelve vote getters were:
(1) Rika Furude (from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) who I voted for in every match, thus 63 times
(2) Ayu Tsukimiya (Kanon): 62 times
(3) Nagisa Furukawa (Clannad) 61
(4) Hanyuu Furude (HnNKn) 60

(clockwise from front: Hanyuu, Rika, Mion, Rena, and Satoko

(5) Kotomi Ichinose (Clannad) 58

(Kotomi Ichinose and friend)

(6) Shiori Misaka (Kanon) 56
(7) Rena Ryuguu (HnNKn) 54
(8) Shinku (Rozen Maiden) 54

(Shinku, the fifth Rozen Maiden doll, with Detective Kun Kun)

(9) Suiseiseki (Rozen Maiden) 54
(10) Shana (Shakugan no Shana) 53
(11) Nayuki Minase (Kanon) 53
(12) Mai Kawasumi (Kanon) 52

(The Kanon girls, from left: Mai, Makoto, Nayuki, Ayu, and Shiori)

As some of you might surmise from the above, I do fancy the Key/Kyoto Animation girls over most of the others for some odd reason. Whatever it is, the rationale lies solely in how these girls affect me in relation to moe, and NOT popularity. This is not a popularity contest, at least to purists like myself. I vote only on that vague and ephemeral definition of moe. Many other voters let a series’ popularity affect their judgement, and I guess that can’t be helped. But I prefer to simply weigh one girl’s moe against her opponent’s, and vote accordingly. Many, many times it is a difficult and heart-rending decision, as in when Ayu faced Rika; Ayu is one of my Most Favored Girls, but her substantial moe pales in comparison to Rika’s). But to abstain is not an option for me (though it is available to you). YMileageMV, and YMoeMV

So, go forth and vote! And visit the site’s Forum for interaction, questions, and a whole lot of campaigning

In fact, I’ll kick off my own campaign for my Number One Girl, Misuzu, right now:

(Misuzu and Yukito, with bento on bench)

And, when you feel that your girl has no chance, and in the deepest depths of despair, just remember: YES, WE CAN!

Unless it’s Code Geass’ Kallen or C.C., who have the combined moe of Misuzu’s left pinkie. In which case you can’t. Please.

Also: Prime Directive Number One: Your Moe Is Not Necessarily My Moe.

’nuff said