The Yard Sale
Taken from this. The below is just something that struck me like a bad AMV idea. I had to get it out of my system. (To be honest this happens on a regular basis and I have a secret stash of things like this somewhere.) [edit: catch the full song on youtube]
Did I mention I really like Manabi Straight?
What prompted me towards this entry isn’t the mysterious episode 10 sub, but my friend’s little concert in celebration of his first CD release. In America, indie musicians are not exactly rare and one thing I found out in the past few years is that an exorbitant amount of indie music are categorically pop–in the sense that what you’ll find playing on the radio is often not unlike what you’ll find in indie club venues. For my friend Dean, it’s more than that however. Well, he explains it better than I can. [/shameless plug]
But what’s interesting is that it really doesn’t take a whole lot to be “good” live. Sure, that’s not to downplay the countless hours that goes into the hard work everyone puts in, but everyone puts in a lot of hours in something like that; far majority of the serious musicians do it, first and foremost, because they love to do it, and it’s their calling in life.
When you see them perform live, rather than some constrained studio recording or even a candid YouTube video, their passion speaks much louder; their playing much more expressive; and like how a typical face-to-face conversation is 40% body language, a live performance is easily an extra 40% more enjoyable, if not more.
Much like Suzumiya Haruhi’s performance in ep 12, Manabi’s performance highlights the climax to the series. It’s like seeing Kotoko’s backup dancers splitting her costume asunder during her Winter Tour shows, except you’re a measly 10 meters from it. It’s like going uphill on a rollercoaster, and anticipating what comes next; and then enjoying what does come.
Megumi Hayashibara sang the OP/ED to Manabi Straight (resurrecting words from the legacy of Ritsuko Okazaki (we miss you!)); she also recently released a new solo album. Hearing her familiar voice now pitched in a matured arrangement is pleasant, to say the least, but the live disc that came with it had caught only a little bit of that “extra 40%.” Still, that was probably worth the price of admission alone. Feel Well and Watashi ni Happy Birthday was ;_;
What else can I throw into this post that’s remotely related to Manabi Straight? Yui Horie‘s performance itself was fairly standard studio fare, so I’m not sure what to say about that in this context. However watching the video sequence is something else. Part of it is the rollercoaster effect, but you can feel some of the love and detail to attention (like the guitar pedalboard). Maybe it’s the animator’s”extra 40%”coming in?
Anyways; it’s a pity that not more of it is subbed timely. I hope people get around to watch the last two episodes, when that happens. Or check the raw like I did :)
Putting Manabi Straight behind is like putting behind a very heartful conviction behind you; it’s just not healthy. Instead, I think, it’s a good way to do it is to commemorate it through rewatching :)
The thankful, yet unfortunate fansubbing effort is a good way to do it, and for every episode that I rewatch I can spend more time picking up things I missed the first time. I think one of these days I gotta start from episode 1 again just to relive the experience full well knowing the full revelation.
Hopefully the new season of shows will match the joy I get from watching this charming little thing.
But before the spring season hits and Haruhi Suzumiya on your screen turns a year old, this is a very good way to end a full run of 4 seasons; from one high school life to another. In some sense this is the “unappreciated” gem of last season, but I don’t know how many people can appreciate this kind of show. It’s going on my all-time favorites list!
BYE-BYE!
I can’t say if Manabi Straight! is the best thing since Sliced Bread (and I can’t recommend it to you unless I know a little about you), but it sure finishes well.
I haven’t been more so gratified by an end to a TV anime for as far as I can remember. It isn’t even a matter of expectation–I expected UFOTable to deliver–it’s just so sweet and it hits the spot so squarely on, that I even put off my original post for today just so I can splooge here.
You know the episode is good if you can squeeze 2 or more posts out of it :3 And I didn’t even have to try.
Haruhi Suzumiya appeals to the earthly notion of God: someone who is powerful to craft reality through sheer power.
But the God I serve works it much more like Manami Amamiya, who makes miracles by putting people together–from friends to buddies–to do things that only buddies can accomplish. Manabi lives in a reality that is a fulfilled future, and she brings her prophetic “vision” of how things could be to inspire and bring people together. This is really what is so “heartful” about Manabi Straight.
What’s probably a little disingenuous is how apparent it all is in the show. They really make it clear with the whole seeing thing. To some end I derive a lot of joy out of watching Manabi Straight just out of my personal perspective alone. And nonetheless I think a fair look at episode 11 would suggest that the animation quality, while isn’t jaw-droppingly gorgeous as Haruhi Suzumiya 12, is well thought-out and fluid when it is necessary. The rocking out scene, to me, was better done because the body movements felt more natural, sans the strange synchronousness of the band. Granted, in a real live people tend NOT to move around as much, but I guess they had to do it to satisfy some notion of “good animation” by serving it up to the fans.
And it’s a dekkai zettai ryouiki jamboree, for real.
Seeing reality for more than what it is–beyond flesh and blood and the physical–is part of the human experience. People relate to each other, and that’s the foundation of society and meaningful human existence. Merely puppeting your surrounding to amuse yourself may be a lot of fun, but it’s a hollow thing at the end. No matter how much of a god Haruhi is she can’t meet her internal, mental, and psychological needs with just her powers alone. In fact her search for aliens and espers and time travelers goes to show that those are the sort of things we look for to fill our needs.
Granted, looking to Mikan to fill your needs is not that different than looking to Kyon to do the same, so well, there’s plenty of reasons to like both shows :)