slice of life Archives - Page 2 of 4

Suisei no Gargantia anime review (spoilers)

Don’t worry, I didn’t drop this one. Unless you count skipping the OVAs and playing Candy Crush while ‘watching’ the last episode. Suisei no Gargantia was a pretty good show, which could have been great but couldn’t quite get its act together all the way till the end.

Pros

Gorgeous art and character designs. It’s almost Ghibli-like in the beauty of the ocean and the level of detail of the ships, etc in the early episodes. Things fell apart visually in the second half, but it’s still one of the most beautiful anime series I’ve seen.

The Earth of the future seems like a lovely place to explore. If they made a second season I’d like them to go all around the world meeting all kinds of new ships.

An interesting clash of world views, the super-cynical side and the super-idealistic side, though eventually it turns out the idealists aren’t quite so empty-headed after all.

I like “guy/girl in another world” and “fish out of water” stories. I also like slice of life shows, especially when the “life” being described is a little unusual.

Apart from the embarrassing “bellydancing” sequence and some vulgar statements by an idiotic character named Pinion, the show is fairly free of fanservice and innuendo. Apart from said dancing episode, I could see myself watching Suisei no Gargantia with a younger crowd like my nephews. Whether they would find such a slow show interesting or not is another matter altogether.

Cons

Exoticization of the Other – Oh look at the primitive natives and how wonderfully they all live in harmony with nature as opposed to us modern and sophisticated, we should definitely learn from their backwards ways, except when it comes to actually getting anything of note done, then “Mighty Whitey” must do the deed because they’re hopelessly dumb and inefficient when it comes to anything practical. It’s enjoyable because the new world is so interesting, and it’s not as offensive as some other examples are (the natives do get some good hits in in the final battle), but it’s pretty glaring nonetheless.

The show also wasn’t as dark as I’d thought it would be at first glance. Nothing wrong with bright, cheery series, but I’m a little disappointed we’ll never get to find out how the final battle with the Hideauze went. I bet the humans lose, though. They seemed pretty done for in episode 1.

Speaking of which, the whole plotline about the Hideauze being former humans was just dropped without making much impact on the show. Ledo finds out, Ledo has a meltdown, then a new enemy shows up and it’s bye-bye Hideauze. Uncool.

The final enemies also felt kind of tacked on. I see what they tried to do there, showing that Ledo has changed so much that he can’t accept the things he used to see as normal before, but there was no build up or foreshadowing. The series just went in one direction for 8 episodes then suddenly did an about-turn at the end, like the writers suddenly realized they needed some Big Bad to make the series exciting. It didn’t seem very well-planned at all.

In all the positives and negatives basically balanced each other out, so you get a show that is more or less average despite the promises held by the premise. I do recommend Suisei no Gargantia simply because it’s so inoffensive and easy to watch, and because it’s absolutely lovely to look at, especially on DVD. Just don’t expect too much based on the hype and the excitement of the earlier episodes and you’ll be fine.

GATE and Hello Kiniro Mosaic dropped

It would be nice if I’d had something cheerier and more meaningful for my 300th post, but I’m so lazy these days it’s surprising enough that I actually posted anything. I’m still working my way through my massive ever-growing anime backlog. I’ve found some pretty good stuff lately, which I’ll talk about once I finish them. Since there’s still good stuff out there, that only makes me all the more merciless when I come across shows I don’t really like. Most recent victims:

Hello Kiniro Mosaic – I’ve already mentioned it before, I forget where, but since “cute girls doing cute stuff” series are a dime a dozen these days, a show has to really stand out to get my attention these days. Hello Kiniro Mosaic is so boring I dropped it about 10 minutes in. Every skit is slow and pointless, the ‘jokes’ aren’t funny at all, the schoolgirls obsessing over each other (and the teachers obsessing over them) is a little creepy and while the character designs are cute, they aren’t especially unique or memorable. There’s bound to be better stuff out there. Dropped.

GATE: Two strikes against this, first the realistic armor and weapons. I don’t like anything resembling realistic war in books, anime, manga, you name it. I can watch 100 episodes of space-fighting Gundam beam spam or magical sparks going flying through the air, but you ground it in reality and my interest fades faster than you can say “Self-Defence Force.”

The second strike was the protagonist. Honestly he’s just gross. 33, otaku, ugly as sin, nothing on his mind except games and anime. He’s just yucky. People talk about how it would be interesting to have more anime protagonists who aren’t wide-eyed teenagers, and to an extent I agree, but someone who hasn’t made anything of their life at 33 is just too disgusting to watch. Did I already mention he’s really ugly? He’s ugly. I don’t feel like rooting for him throughout whatever adventures he has beyond the gate, so I didn’t even make it to the end of episode 1. GATE is dropped, good riddance.

Dropped Danchigai, Kuusen Madoushi and Madan no Ou to Vanadis

Danchigai – I usually like anime with short episodes but in this case 3 minutes felt like 3 hours. Nothing significant happened – guy woke up, bickered with siblings, went to school, but they still had to throw in unnecessary tsundereness and suggestive content. There were no compelling situations, no story or even background (who are these people and why are they all living together?) so nothing made me want to watch any more after an episode.

Kuusen Madoushi Kouhosei No Kyoukan – Started out somewhat interesting with all those bug monsters. The little combat I saw didn’t look too interesting, but I figured it would get better as stuff was explained later. Unfortunately before that we had to deal with the usual “funny” misunderstandings with the main character walking around with jam on his crotch and walking into the women’s bathroom and all those other situations I haven’t found funny in about 10 years.

The idea of an elite fighter taking charge of a bunch of weaklings and whipping them into shape is a good one, but it was clear from episode 1 that the show is going to be more about perverted incidents and harem-type occurrences instead of just normal fighting and training like I was hoping for. Not my cup of tea. Next.

Madan no Ou to Vanadis – I was looking for more shows with overpowered MCs after finishing Mahouka, and someone recommended this. Well, the hero isn’t quite as overpowered as Tatsuya. He’s just really, really good with a bow and then he gets a super magic bow and well, you can take it from there.

I watched about 3 or 4 episodes, up to the point where he kills the dragon with the magic bow. I dropped it because it was boring. The skimpily-dressed ladies falling all over the main guy didn’t help the show’s case, but if the political intrigue and the battles had been any good there could have been hope. But really, there’s only so much you can do with a bow and an arrow. Point, and shoot. Point, and shoot. Booorriiing. After watching a long, supposedly strategic battle I couldn’t bring myself to root for any of the sides and didn’t see the point of continuing.

Yay, my backlog is shrinking! I’ll post about another reject next time – the only reason I didn’t add it today is because it comes highly recommended so I want to give it one more episode to get its act together. See you next time!

Minami-ke Tadaima anime review

This story is a simple depiction of the ordinary lives of the three Minami sisters. Please do not expect too much.

That’s the disclaimer in every episode of Minami-ke Tadaima, and the show is exactly what it says on the tin. Haruka, Kana and Chiaki wake up, eat, go to school, come home, eat, sleep and on and on through the episodes. It’s a great series for anyone who likes slice-of-life with relatively normal characters, but after four seasons maybe enough is enough?

Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed the show thoroughly, but the nature of most slice-of-life shows is that things will (almost) always reset to the status quo, so there’s rarely any development of note. Normally this isn’t a problem because such shows usually last only 13 to 26 episodes and end before you can get fed up, but Minami-ke is at double that number and counting. That means after 4 seasons things that were funny or interesting in the beginning now prompt a “That’s enough already!” reaction out of me. In particular:

– Hosaka is still fantasizing about Haruka yet still hasn’t managed to even talk to her properly yet.

– Fujioka is still failing to confess his love to Kana.

– Riko is still failing to confess her love to Fujioka.

– That annoying girl who is in love with Natsuki is still in love with him but can’t confess. Though we have learned that Natsuki has a bit of a crush on Haruka.

– Fujioka still doesn’t know that Touma is a girl.

– Makoto is still cross-dressing as Mako-chan… though I suppose Chiaki is slightly more friendly to boy Makoto now.

– Uncle Takeru is still coming over to mope… though he’s less of a mooch now.

So there have been slight developments, but for the most part everything is still the same as ever. That means fans of the series will get exactly what they were hoping for when they picked it up but it also means people like me who were getting just a bit tired of the formula last time will be a little disappointed. And even more so when they tease developments then take them away, like when they made it seem Haruka was into Natsuki, or that Fujioka and annoying-girl-who-likes-Natsuki would get together.

At least the show only added one new member to the cast (Miyuki. Or was she there all along?) but the cast is already plenty large, so I had to slog through a lot of skits that dealt with people I either don’t care for (the annoying girl that likes Natsuki, Atsuko and Maki), used to like but am now tired of (Hosaka, Makoto) or people I actively dislike (Natsuki, Hayami-sempai). I felt a little sad when the past three seasons ended but with Minami-ke Tadaima it’s just like, huh. Okay.

Of course I will still watch season 5 if and when it comes out, but the series is really stagnating now. If nothing changes after this then the next season will be my last.

Doing Time manga review

It’s been a while since I read something I actually enjoyed. Doing Time by Kazuichi Hanawa is quite similar to Hei no Naka no Korinai Menmen which I mentioned a few weeks ago, in that it’s a short chronicle of the author’s time spent behind bars. Both titles take a slice of life approach to the subject, showing what happens day in and day out. Who they meet, what they do, what they wear, where they sleep, and so on and so forth. If you read closely you’ll even see Hei no Naka referred to in Doing Time afterward, translated as “Some guys never learn behind bars.”

The similarities are many, but the difference in tone is astounding. Hei no Naka no Korinai Menmen has a puffed up, self-righteous moralizing tone to it while Doing Time largely steers clear of discussions of right and wrong and just focuses on everyday life. Furthermore, since Doing Time is originally a manga, written and drawn by the actual prisoner, while Hei no Naka is a manga adaptation of a novel, Doing Time has a livelier, more vivid and more realistic feel to the art and the details of life.

Comparing the two series would be an interesting exercise, seeing as there aren’t that many autobiographical titles set in prison. It would be an interesting exercise for someone else to do, but today I’m just here to talk about Doing Time. As usual, the summary:

Summary 1: Up to now, Kazuichi Hanawa expressed himself through works of fiction. The fantastic world of tales from the Middle Ages in Japan was his favorite setting. In 1994 Hanawa was arrested for owning a firearm. An avid collector of guns, he was caught whilst testing a remodeled handgun in the backwoods, miles away from anyone, and imprisoned for three years. Forbidden to record any details whilst incarcerated, Hanawa recreated his time inside after his release. He did so with a meticulousness rarely found in comics as every detail of his cell, every meal that was served, the daily habits of his cell-mates and, above all, the rigid regime are minutely noted and bring us into the very mindset of a Japanese prisoner. Made into a live action movie in 2002 by Sai Yoichi (All Under the Moon).

Summary 2: In 1994 the mangaka Kazuichi Hanawa was arrested on firearms offences and sentanced to three years in prison. Once released, Hanawa set about creating this autobiographical record of his life behind bars. The first few chapters relate to his incarceration in jail whilst awaiting trial and the rest of the work covers his actual prison sentance. There is no ongoing plot but, rather, each chapter relates in minute detail the customs and rituals of prison life – food, clothing, rules, work, exercise, bathing and so on and so forth. The only things omitted are the background of the author’s crime, trial, sentancing and release but an interview with the author and a commentary by the anime critic Tomohide Kure (who was involved in Hanawa’s defence) are included to shed some light on these aspects.

Most reviews will note how resigned to his lot and almost content the main character seems, and they’re right. Apart from the first chapter that deals with his nicotine cravings and the chapter about his annoyance at having to yell “Pleeease!” when he wants anything from the guards, his view of prison life seems remarkably positive. He and the other prisoners even look forward with great excitement to certain simple pleasures, like getting a special bread once a month or their New Year’s meal.

I'm going to try folding one of these soon. — I’m going to try folding one of these.

But when you think about it, there’s no reason why Hanawa shouldn’t be content. The Japanese prison he describes seems like a veritable paradise compared to what I know of prisons in other cultures. Your average prisoner in, say, Mali or Bolivia would kill to share a comfy, disease-free cell with only four other people. They get three healthy meals a day, they have running water, their cells are huge and spacious, their cell toilet even has a privacy screen, etc. Heck, lots of people on the outside even in Japan would be glad to have digs like that.

Not only that, but they also have all kinds of privileges that one wouldn’t expect prisoners to get. For example some prisoners have personal shavers. The prisoners also keep bottles (unclear if they’re glass or plastic) of sauce in their cell, surely a potential weapon if there ever was one. They’re even allowed to watch TV – not a TV in a general room but TVs right in their own cells, plus they have access to tons of books and all the latest magazines, as long as they’re considered ‘educational.’

And you might think, well that must be a minimum-security prison for people who haven’t done anything too serious, right? That’s what I thought at first, but later on the story introduces armed robbers and cold-blooded murderers, casually and unrepentantly chatting about their crimes and looking forward to their New Years’ treats just like everybody else. As the author wryly comments on one page, prison is so nice there’s no incentive to go straight!

In a sense, reading Doing Time is a good way to get a sense of Japanese culture as a whole. You learn a lot from the needless bureacracy, the tightly regimented lifestyles (even right down to when to walk, when to trot, when to look out the window and when not to) and the relative freedom and comfort the prisoners enjoy. It’s something only a country with a relatively low rate of violent crime (even taking into account the thousands of crimes the Japanese police hide every year) can get away with. It might be an interesting read for the Japanophile just for that alone.

For everyone else, Doing Time is still a good read, being a rare non-dreary, non-preachy tale of prison slice-of-life. You’ll come away feeling quite upbeat and cheerful, and more than a little hungry after pages upon pages of delicious-looking prison food. It’s been a while since I reviewed something I recommend and would be happy to re-read, but I think most people would have a good time, aha, with Doing Time.