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xenoglossy at 10:15pm on 03/10/2010 under anime, baa baa meme sheep, dork levels are over 9000, manga, movies, music
xenoglossy at 10:15pm on 03/10/2010 under anime, baa baa meme sheep, dork levels are over 9000, manga, movies, musicSo I watched the first seven episodes of Angel Beats yesterday. I've been meaning to for ages, since I was at one point a big Key fan, but I seem to have a hard time really getting interested in anime these days. I am enjoying it, though, in a guilty pleasure kind of way! The Wacky School Antics (with added comedic violence and death) annoy me, though; I'm totally in it for the horrible angst and drama. Come to think of it, my enjoyment of any Key series/game is inversely proportional to how much (many?) Wacky School Antics I have to sit through before reaching the horrible angst. This is why Planetarian is my favorite.
- The music may be my favorite part, actually. I'm always happy when Lia does work with Key, because her voice is gorgeous but everything she's done on her own since Colors of Life has been generic pop crap. The ending is also very pretty and sounds a whole lot like riya/eufonius. The Girls Dead Monster songs are fun, though I didn't think Iwasawa's voice actress had the chops to pull off the slow acoustic ballad. But I'm a vocal music snob.
- It is weird to be watching an anime about Japanese high schoolers now that I actually work in a Japanese high school. I have a hard time defining just how it changes my viewing experience, but it definitely does.
- There are too many damn characters; I can hardly remember who's who or what anyone's name is unless they've had an episode focusing on them. Well, except for TK. I am dying to find out what his angsty backstory is. Perhaps he spent his entire childhood locked in a room with only American television to keep him company. (Just kidding, I know he's the comic relief character that's going to disappear as soon as things get really serious.)
- I am guessing like 90% of the fandom ships Otonashi/Hinata and/or Otonashi/Naoi ("the one I'm holding in my arms is you," indeed). Actually, Otonashi/Naoi is probably more popular because they used to be enemies and Naoi's still kind of a jerk and also he is prettier. I guess Key knows how to pander to the fangirls as well as the fanboys!
(On a side note, I learned in my JET-orientation Japanese class that the hand-to-the-side-of-the-mouth gesture that Otonashi does when Hinata says "I need you!" and Hinata does later on means "gay". I would never have picked that up on my own. It makes me wonder how much body language I've missed/misinterpreted in anime over the years. Clearly my time in Japan is adding amazing new dimensions to my ability to understand silly cartoons!)
- Naoi is actually my favorite character so far, although I couldn't tell you why. Perhaps it is the sweet hat. I've gotta say, though, I was waiting for his backstory to reveal that he was actually a girl. Silly me, I have clearly been away from anime too long if I think that a character looking feminine and having a female voice actress means that they might be female.
- Speaking of, I hate to say it, but I don't think I like any of the girl characters. As an oldest sibling myself, Yurippe's angsty backstory does get to me, but I find her annoying mostly. I didn't like Haruhi Suzumiya that much the first time. Yui annoys me even more, though that may be largely because I find her voice actress grating (though her singing is surprisingly good). Angel... I can't put my finger on why she doesn't work for me; I was going to say I just don't like that archetype, but "badass seemingly-emotionless person who secretly wants friends" describes quite a few characters that I do like, so who knows. I am curious to see what stoic broom-balancing girl's deal is, but as of right now... well, obviously I don't even remember her name. Iwasawa was okay, I guess, but she disappeared in episode two, so. Anyway, there's nothing blatantly wrong with them, and I don't think they're written any worse than the male characters, it's just... none of them appeal to me, so I kind of feel bad.
- So, wait, did Otonashi's sister die during their non-hospital-sanctioned Christmas outing? Shouldn't he have gotten in a shitload of trouble for that? Anyway, that whole sequence I was thinking "yes, take someone whose immune system is already compromised to a crowded place on a cold day at a time of year when lots of people are sick! Nothing could possibly go wrong with that!" Yes, I am thinking about this too hard.
Man that was a lot of rambling. Could it be that I actually care about an anime again? When was the last time that happened?
I also saw the Ōoku movie today! It was really good, I thought; pretty sets, pretty costumes, good acting, minimal cheesiness. I especially liked Shibasaki Kou as the shogun. The exterior shots of the castle looked really familiar but I can't tell if it's somewhere I've been or if it's just that Japanese castles tend to look similar. They made some changes, but nothing detrimental, I thought. Though there's one scene where another character tries to kill the protagonist and then kills himself, which I don't remember being in the original and which seemed... kind of odd. I mean, it didn't seem to have any impact on anything that happened after, so it seemed like a cheap way to add drama. Man, why am I going on about this, has anyone else on my flist even read the manga?
(Incidentally, the Sad Piano Theme that played when Dramatic Things were happening sounded a lot like Mimi no Aru Robotto no Uta. I was amused.)
Anyway, that music meme:
It was easy to choose a band, but hard to decide on a song. In the end I just searched them on Youtube and picked the one with the best video on the first page.
Download!
Man, I can't be bothered to actually look for videos for songs I hate. Pretend I put something by Fall Out Boy here. Or one of those other whiny dude bands.
Haha this is like 90% of my music library. Jpop! Cheesy '80s music! A cappella! Eurovision songs! My tastes in music is largely geeky, terrible, or geeky and terrible.
But I guess this one will do, being a cheesy '80s Eurovision entry. (If only there were a Japanese a cappella version, I could have the Ultimate Embarrassing Song!)
Download!
Day 01. Your favorite song
Day 02. Your least favorite song
Day 03. A song that makes you happy
Day 04. A song that makes you sad
Day 05. A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06. A song that reminds you of somewhere
Day 07. A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08. A song that you know all the words to
Day 09. A song that you can dance to
Day 10. A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 14. A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15. A song that describes you
Day 16. A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17. A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18. A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19. A song from your favorite album
Day 20. A song that you listen to when you’re angry
Day 21. A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 22. A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 23. A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24. A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25. A song that makes you laugh
Day 26. A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27. A song that you wish you could play
Day 28. A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29. A song from your childhood
Day 30. Your favorite song at this time last year
- The music may be my favorite part, actually. I'm always happy when Lia does work with Key, because her voice is gorgeous but everything she's done on her own since Colors of Life has been generic pop crap. The ending is also very pretty and sounds a whole lot like riya/eufonius. The Girls Dead Monster songs are fun, though I didn't think Iwasawa's voice actress had the chops to pull off the slow acoustic ballad. But I'm a vocal music snob.
- It is weird to be watching an anime about Japanese high schoolers now that I actually work in a Japanese high school. I have a hard time defining just how it changes my viewing experience, but it definitely does.
- There are too many damn characters; I can hardly remember who's who or what anyone's name is unless they've had an episode focusing on them. Well, except for TK. I am dying to find out what his angsty backstory is. Perhaps he spent his entire childhood locked in a room with only American television to keep him company. (Just kidding, I know he's the comic relief character that's going to disappear as soon as things get really serious.)
- I am guessing like 90% of the fandom ships Otonashi/Hinata and/or Otonashi/Naoi ("the one I'm holding in my arms is you," indeed). Actually, Otonashi/Naoi is probably more popular because they used to be enemies and Naoi's still kind of a jerk and also he is prettier. I guess Key knows how to pander to the fangirls as well as the fanboys!
(On a side note, I learned in my JET-orientation Japanese class that the hand-to-the-side-of-the-mouth gesture that Otonashi does when Hinata says "I need you!" and Hinata does later on means "gay". I would never have picked that up on my own. It makes me wonder how much body language I've missed/misinterpreted in anime over the years. Clearly my time in Japan is adding amazing new dimensions to my ability to understand silly cartoons!)
- Naoi is actually my favorite character so far, although I couldn't tell you why. Perhaps it is the sweet hat. I've gotta say, though, I was waiting for his backstory to reveal that he was actually a girl. Silly me, I have clearly been away from anime too long if I think that a character looking feminine and having a female voice actress means that they might be female.
- Speaking of, I hate to say it, but I don't think I like any of the girl characters. As an oldest sibling myself, Yurippe's angsty backstory does get to me, but I find her annoying mostly. I didn't like Haruhi Suzumiya that much the first time. Yui annoys me even more, though that may be largely because I find her voice actress grating (though her singing is surprisingly good). Angel... I can't put my finger on why she doesn't work for me; I was going to say I just don't like that archetype, but "badass seemingly-emotionless person who secretly wants friends" describes quite a few characters that I do like, so who knows. I am curious to see what stoic broom-balancing girl's deal is, but as of right now... well, obviously I don't even remember her name. Iwasawa was okay, I guess, but she disappeared in episode two, so. Anyway, there's nothing blatantly wrong with them, and I don't think they're written any worse than the male characters, it's just... none of them appeal to me, so I kind of feel bad.
- So, wait, did Otonashi's sister die during their non-hospital-sanctioned Christmas outing? Shouldn't he have gotten in a shitload of trouble for that? Anyway, that whole sequence I was thinking "yes, take someone whose immune system is already compromised to a crowded place on a cold day at a time of year when lots of people are sick! Nothing could possibly go wrong with that!" Yes, I am thinking about this too hard.
Man that was a lot of rambling. Could it be that I actually care about an anime again? When was the last time that happened?
I also saw the Ōoku movie today! It was really good, I thought; pretty sets, pretty costumes, good acting, minimal cheesiness. I especially liked Shibasaki Kou as the shogun. The exterior shots of the castle looked really familiar but I can't tell if it's somewhere I've been or if it's just that Japanese castles tend to look similar. They made some changes, but nothing detrimental, I thought. Though there's one scene where another character tries to kill the protagonist and then kills himself, which I don't remember being in the original and which seemed... kind of odd. I mean, it didn't seem to have any impact on anything that happened after, so it seemed like a cheap way to add drama. Man, why am I going on about this, has anyone else on my flist even read the manga?
(Incidentally, the Sad Piano Theme that played when Dramatic Things were happening sounded a lot like Mimi no Aru Robotto no Uta. I was amused.)
Anyway, that music meme:
It was easy to choose a band, but hard to decide on a song. In the end I just searched them on Youtube and picked the one with the best video on the first page.
Download!
Man, I can't be bothered to actually look for videos for songs I hate. Pretend I put something by Fall Out Boy here. Or one of those other whiny dude bands.
Haha this is like 90% of my music library. Jpop! Cheesy '80s music! A cappella! Eurovision songs! My tastes in music is largely geeky, terrible, or geeky and terrible.
But I guess this one will do, being a cheesy '80s Eurovision entry. (If only there were a Japanese a cappella version, I could have the Ultimate Embarrassing Song!)
Download!
Day 01. Your favorite song
Day 02. Your least favorite song
Day 03. A song that makes you happy
Day 04. A song that makes you sad
Day 05. A song that reminds you of someone
Day 06. A song that reminds you of somewhere
Day 07. A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 08. A song that you know all the words to
Day 09. A song that you can dance to
Day 10. A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 14. A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 15. A song that describes you
Day 16. A song that you used to love but now hate
Day 17. A song that you hear often on the radio
Day 18. A song that you wish you heard on the radio
Day 19. A song from your favorite album
Day 20. A song that you listen to when you’re angry
Day 21. A song that you listen to when you’re happy
Day 22. A song that you listen to when you’re sad
Day 23. A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 24. A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 25. A song that makes you laugh
Day 26. A song that you can play on an instrument
Day 27. A song that you wish you could play
Day 28. A song that makes you feel guilty
Day 29. A song from your childhood
Day 30. Your favorite song at this time last year