Xam’d Lost Memories 16

I really love Xam’d. I can count on it every week to entertain me with engrossing storytelling, complex characters I really care about and beautiful visuals. It even robs me of any desire to nitpick about things.

A tale of woe… next time I’m buying it online

I hate the weird looks I get when I buy manga in person. Today I went to Barnes & Noble to pick up a copy of Yen Plus, Yen Press’ newish manga anthology which I read partly because I like some of the stories and partly for the novelty of reading a manga magazine. That’s one thing I’m really envious of Japan for. They have dozens… hundreds? of manga magazines filled with hot off the press stories. Whereas we have about 3 and they’re months or years behind.

Anyway I grabbed it off the shelf and handed it to the woman at the checkout who studied it for an interminably long time, muttered “oh my” then looked up at me with the same expression as if I’d suddenly told her that I was having a Satanic ritual tonight and would she like to come? So I gave her my sweetest “just because I like manga doesn’t mean I murder small children” smile and tried not to sink into the floor from embarrassment.

I know anime and manga is a lot more mainstream nowadays so I really hate that I still get weird looks about it. It’s the reason that unless they initiated the conversation I would never tell anyone I don’t know very well that I’m such an anime nerd. At twenty years of age I figure I’m far too old to care what people think but still, nobody likes to be thought of as a freak.

Of course, it is partially my fault. You know you’ve got problems when you deliberately flip the magazine over to the back cover because for some reason you believe a girl with a cleaver is much less embarrassing and strange than shoujo style art. Or maybe I just need to read more shoujo.

So what’s the most embarrassing anime/manga related thing that’s happened to you?

Xam’d Lost Memories 15

After the excitement of last week this was a slow paced, somewhat melancholy episode. Even the music felt sadder and the colors earthier and more subdued. 

On being a fan – paying attention to creators… or not

So I recently did a rather silly team post over at Oi Hayaku! which Mark A. commented on:

Selective memory indeed. Nevermind the fact that so many U.S. otaku can’t name the various directors, animators, or even studios behind their favorite shows. Didn’t it used to be fandom de rigueur was a hunger to find out all the background meta data on your favorite works, and from there place them and their creators into a historical context?

which made a lightbulb ding on over my head with the sudden realization that “hey, other people think about these things too.” I like that feeling so I hope you’ll forgive me for being so arrogant as to write up an entire post in response to a comment on another of my posts.

On Revolutionary Girl Utena: Part 1

 

While most bloggers are busy discussing the new season I’m still stuck on Revolutionary Girl Utena. I feel as if I’ve discovered a long lost friend… who won’t leave me alone. So I’ve decided that the only solution is to write about it but between 1997 and now hasn’t everything already been said?

Well, maybe not. Fans have tried dissecting the meaning behind every single spinning rose and character relationship but Utena is such a layered show that they’ve still only just scratched the surface. And for my purposes I’m not so concerned with every minute interpretation as with the show as a whole.

This won’t be a review because let’s face it, reviews get boring. I simply want to discuss some of the things that make Utena so unique and so damn good. I’ll try to do it justice while keeping this as spoiler free as possible.

Xam’d Lost Memories 13 and 14

Well after almost a month’s hiatus in which the Japanese audience got caught up, Xam’d is finally back and back with a vengeance. A delicious two episodes indeed.

Point your finger and shout, a Gurren Lagann movie clip

Are you ready to be blown out of your chair by RE-ANIMATED HOT BLOODED SPEECHES AND DRILLS THAT PIERCE THE HEAVEN? Okay good, watch this:

[Credit goes to Manganimation.net who links to a higher quality version.]

In case you’ve forgotten, here’s how it went down in episode 11:

Revisiting Utena and boys posing on cars

Recently I decided to watch Revolutionary Girl Utena for a second time. Now this is a special show to me because when I first watched it I was fairly new to anime having only seen Ghibli films, Cowboy Bebop and a few others like Akira and Ghost in the Shell. In other words, anime that doesn’t conform to the stereotype of big eyes and candy colored hair.

Needless to say, Utena was a shock to me. Not only did it have big eyes and hair straight out of a Skittles commercial, there was also a veritable landslide of bizarre symbolism and blatant sexuality including incest. The story of a girl who wanted to be a prince, her female “bride” and a school full of duelists vying for that bride was no less strange. I was confused but fascinated. This was anime too?

When it was over I felt as if I’d been run over by a high-speed train but, masochist than I am, I wanted more. Without Utena I don’t think I would have ever broadened my tastes and begun to watch anime that didn’t have realistic character designs. Previously I had been a fan of certain anime but not an anime fan. After Utena, the long descent into otaku hell had begun.

Now, a few years later, it’s still one of if not the strangest shows I’ve ever seen. It is also one of the most layered and interesting ones. Watching it, I don’t just feel entertained but also utterly involved – no, engrossed – in the story. It starts out light hearted and gradually becomes darker and stranger with only one or two moments in the last arc to lighten the mood (namely unintentionally? hilarious phallic imagery). The conclusion was just as emotional as I remembered it and now that it’s all over I’m left in a funk.

So what’s my point here? I’m afraid that there really isn’t one. I sat down intending to write something meaningful about this fantastic show and ended up blabbering on about my personal anime influences. Perhaps I’m finding it hard to write about because there’s so very much I want to say that it’s almost easier to say nothing at all. If I can gather my thoughts together I may write something about the extremely formulaic structure and the use of ritual in Utena if only because it’s one of the most unique aspects of the show.

Until then, enjoy this:

By the way, is Utena still popular at all? I wonder if all those girls who love Ouran High School Host Club realize that it pays homage to Utena in more ways than one. Or what they think about the fact that all the boys at Ohtori Academy could whip the host club’s asses at fencing and still be approximately 300% more gay fabulous.