July 6, 2007

An Entertaining Uninstall Redux

By omo

Flowers for Ishikawa

Chiaki Ishikawa at AX explains a lot about Uninstall. And how Simoun’s production was full of girls.

Yea, some guy booted the audio from her show. To save you the trouble of having people yell into your ears by listening to that hour-long thing, here are some tidbits:

1. As an anisong singer (she explained what that was) she really got into it through Kajiura’s collab in Gundam Seed. Their partnership had a deep impact on her, it seems. She has been doing solo only a year or two.

2. Speaking of anisong singing, she wrote Uninstall in a way that people (in Japan) will recognize that it is an anisong. So, naturally, Ishikawa sang “a ni song, a ni song.” HAHAHAHA. You go girl. Only a song’s writer can mock the song’s fan the best? Oh, oops, I’m suppose to keep this secret! (Isn’t this on the internet already? But I bet not a recording of her singing just that…)

3. Which songs? Annaniisshodattanoni, Kimigaitamonogatari, Yasashiiyoake (she soloed), Uninstall, Utsukushiikerebasoredeii, Kimiwabokuniniteiru, and Obsession. Ugh @ Obsession. I hate this song. Well, I think she sang it better here than on the CD at the least…

4. She doesn’t do many lives at all. (Ugh)

5. I can use a picture of her costume? LOL.

Speaking of Uninstall, though, there’s also Ishikawa’s blog and it talks about that a bit (under 7/3). Among other things. For someone who saw the first Gundam series when she was little (I guess this is heading 6?), she’s a champ for toughing it out on this AX trip…and wow, that’d also make her someone who was inspired (well, maybe subconsciously) by it and ended up working on the franchise, even if probably unintentionally. It’s all up there.

6 comments | posted in Conventions and Concerts, Modern Visual Culture, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop, Simoun

July 4, 2007

Lost and Finding Nodame

By omo

Yep, I’m sort of lost.

It’s not that I don’t know what shows to watch, but I think I might have to take a break to regain my drive to care. The new summer shows are popping up now, so maybe I’ll find a show that will motivate me.

But even before I do that, watching the end to Nodame gave me enough boost to keep going? Maybe it’s the lovely soundtrack to the show. Beethoven > most pop music, sadly still.

For a show about people getting over their memories, it was a cute and entertaining adventure with all the internalizations clearly depicted but kept quiet in favor of Nodame’s repeating antics. Like Honey & Clover, Nodame also lift in whole some of the manga schtiks to good effects. The end result was not just a mere-falling-in-love with the characters, but also getting caught up to its pace and the style of humor.

That said, the show is not a masterpiece unlike some of the music it played. There were some pacing issues and the rough spots but it was simple and I think the staff was veteran enough to dice this up despite some limitations. It ran knowing where it is going, and it took strong and steady strides.

In retrospect, Nodame was the kind of show that really anchored my viewing habits. It’s like a drug–a weekly dose to keep you sane…or insane. It doesn’t get me excited, and it isn’t really experimental or out there that I have to worry about what I’m getting each week. On the other hand it’s something you can count on to entertain, and you know how much it’ll make you laugh or make you feel sentimental about your own youth.

Ahh. I feel like those old geezers in H&C again.

Leave a comment | posted in Honey And Clover, Modern Visual Culture, Nodame Cantabile

July 2, 2007

AX2007: Manhandled?

By omo

Well, pissed off con goers are dime a dozen, at least that’s how I feel as a long-time con goer. This year’s AX, however, is a different story. I’ve not been, so I can’t say on my own, but I have all the hearsay in the world to back this up.

For one, Halko Momoi herself openly dissed AX. Com’on, guys, Momoi might be a little less diplomatic and forgiving than the typical Japanese guest, but she really loves her fans and whatever that pushed her this far can’t be just some trite little thing. ANN reported a bit on it, but you can get a bigger picture of what went on in the comments and especially as detailed here, by someone who was at the Momoi events.

Of course, the extra-hours wait in itself is not too, too unexpected; the multitude of concerts AX has this year invariably will mean one or more mismanagement and legions of pissed fans. The delayed concerts and the subsequent chain effect? One pissy performer can cause all these subsequent ills that would affect just the fans attending those shows (a large amount to say the least). But, well, AX forum itself is full of horrid stories: like 50 autographs for the SOS-dan girls? That bit of news made even 2ch.

I’ve seen my share of inept con managements. But I think what is unfathomable is pissing off fan favorites. People like the SOS-dan trio and Halko Momoi are really big (or will be) in the scene, and that kind of ill-will goes far to discredit not just AX’s management, but western fandom in general. Even if this was a once-in-a-lifetime screw-up.

To that end, it’s not so much a matter of “AX’s fault” or any kind of silly blame-game, but it screws with the prospect of other cons scoring these guests as visitors in the future. It creates the sort of damage that (perhaps) not even time and money can undo. Perhaps, as of this writing, it is already by-gone and water under the bridge. I suppose I can only plead humbly to the other con organizers to treat their shows not just “yet another con” but that for the special guests themselves, this is their livelihood; and the collective sacrifice of your typical major-con goers has to be respected. It’s ugly when the middleman screws it up, you know? Con managements do not have thankful jobs and they really get to deal with a lot of crap with very little glory. I’m sure there is more to the hearsay floating around out there that make all of the trash talk fit reasonably. But please, do something! D:

9 comments | posted in Conventions and Concerts, Modern Visual Culture, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop

June 30, 2007

Today: AnnouncementTorrent

By omo

This year is not too bad as far as US con news goes so far. Definitely an improvement from the last. I’m just going to highlight some of the ones I care about:

Emma being licensed is actually my biggest ZOMG. It’s a great little gem but it’s so far off the well-treaded path for anime, let alone anime in the US, that RightStuf might have some trouble finding good homes for their DVDs. But somehow it’s the sort of show that makes you think “hey, there must be some people out there who’d buy Victorian romance imported from Japan.” Especially in the US. Especially after you scrub-a-dub-dub and remove traces of “Maide In Japan” from it.

Gurren Lagann being licensed is a nice treat. I like the show enough to watch it, but it suffers from the Eureka 7 problem in some ways. I wish it was shorter so at least I have no excuses about being able to afford it. Then again, technically I can still wait for a thin-pack from E7, and ADV is much better about releasing collections than most other studios. What’s wrong with Eureka 7? It’s too long, it’s not the sort of thing that you want to watch the whole thing twice (although some episodes definitely many many times over).

DMP is going to release Flamboyant. We know they’re bringing over a Megami compilation later this year, so this is more of the same, I guess (I hate Megami stuff with a passion, but it’s good to know). It’s interesting because I bought Flamboyant back when it was hot enough for a second run… Well, at least it’ll be cheap (and with more artwork!). Flamboyant, for the noob, is the first (and so far only?) art book by Hakua Ugetsu. Sure, it’s got the name Bakuhatsu Tenshi to taint, but the stuff inside is awesome.

Along with the re-announcement of Nanoha and Nanoha A’s, I think I might even buy the SRW OAVs when they come out. Probably pass on SRW TV though. These are all “maybe” but I think I like A’s enough to not pass.

Cosmode USA. Uuugh. In other words, a US cosplay magazine.

Last one for the day: Wings of Honneamise on DVD and HD-DVD is actually a big deal. The US is ahead over Japan on the HD home video effort. At this point in the game I don’t care if it’s Blu-Ray or HDDVD. I just want my anime on 1080! And this is a classic to own for this purpose.

2 comments | posted in Conventions and Concerts, Emma, English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Modern Visual Culture, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

June 28, 2007

Contemplations: Of William Jones and Matsuri Shihou, Resolutions, and Our ゆずれない願い

By omo

Character: Matsuri Shihou. Time: when she kissed Yorito on the roof of the high school. Why: Because she loved him ever since she met him through Aono. But unlike Yorito, Matsuri is the one who has a burden to carry.

Character: William Jones (I’m sure he has some kind of middle name/suffix to his name…but then again he is gentry). Time: when he accepted Eleanor’s kindness and started to court her. Why: Because he was trying to move on, and Eleanor was more than willing to help him do the “right thing.”

The question: what is the “right thing”? Where did Will and Matsuri learned it from? Why, in those two instances, are the right things so different?

The revelation, for me, came when I linked the two shows together. The Victorian romance had all so much to do with our postmodern nightwalker once you removed the social stigma of being a Yaka. And we should, as it didn’t matter to Yorito, Mana, or even Koyori (I think). But why did it matter to Emma (or rather, William’s perception of Emma’s feeling on the matter) that William was trying to do the right thing by marrying her and not “having her on the side,” as the servants would call it? Was being true to Matsuri’s feeling something impossible, made by her circumstances much like how William being true to his?

Apologies to our Emma fans reading what I’m writing for I am being willfully ignorant and have yet taken the manga plunge, but I think in my limitations I can stop worrying about the “what” and think about the “why” a little more.

It’s not unusual at all that in a story to see the core struggle being one of doing not the easy thing, but the right thing. However in both Sola and Emma, it’s not clear at first what is the right thing. To our modern humanist perspective obviously William is trying to do the right thing, even if it is a sort of selfish sacrifice to please Emma’s sense of William’s worth. Even if we project ourselves in the time and place of Mr. Jones, the morality of it is clear. But there’s no clear way out. The socially acceptable practice was actually not the moral position to take. Social life directly impacted his financial responsibilities, and it’s not just William who suffers, but also the people he loves–including Emma. And how can we forget poor Eleanor!

Basically Sola maps onto the same conflict in the same way, with addition to plot holes–namely, the fourth option forged by Matsuri’s iron determination, her unyielding wish. And aptly, symbolized by a magical sword made of metal.

Where will William find his plot hack?

Perhaps the difference between an interesting historical fiction pandering to reality and an anime that seems like an adaptation of a bishoujo dating game lies right here. Matsuri is someone who has already made the mistake William could have made, and is trying to turn it back around. William is someone, well, who half-way made the mistake and is probably going to go for option 3.

Or in Yorito’s case, 1 or 2 is fine too.

This rant is brought to you by, again, Haruko Momoi’s godsend cover CD. Buy it today!

4 comments | posted in Emma, Modern Visual Culture, Sola