Evangelion 2.0: You can (not) advance (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Ha) September 7, 2009
Posted by ayasawada in Anime, Film.Tags: Anime, cinema, Eva, evangelion, Film, GAINAX, Japan, movie
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While in Japan, I was lucky enough to catch the second Renewal of Evangelion movie at the Human Trust Cinema in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Ha (Renewal of Evangelion: Ha or Evangelion 2.0: You can (not) advance as it is alternately known) is the next in GAINAX’s remakes/reimaginings/cash-in rip-off’s of their popular, controversial anime series.
Despite my misgivings about reanimating and redoing an otaku favourite, I was really impressed by the first film (Evangelion 1.0: You are (not) alone). Yes, the story was exactly the same as the first six or so episodes of the series, but it had been a long time since I’d rewatched the TV anime and the newly animated footage was stunning. To see everything rendered in new, 21st Century colours and CG was a treat for the eyes, and the story still holds — in some ways it was even better without the filler fluff that comes with a TV series.
Yet, while the story was essentially the same, it did hint at big changes to the original plot — Kaworu, for example, made a few taster appearances.
This is carried on in the second film, which while going through essentially the same hoops as the original anime, takes a different route in getting there.
(SPOILER ALERT: If you really don’t want to know, stop reading here) (more…)
Japan trip 2009: The otaku experience August 9, 2009
Posted by ayasawada in Anime, Film, Friends, Gunpla, Japan, Personal, Travel.Tags: Anime, Books, figures, games, Gundam, Gunpla, Gurren Lagann, Honey and Clover, Japan, Jpop, K-ON, Manga, Music, otaku, plamo, shopping
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Gundam and I, Odaiba, July 2009
So, I’ve written all about my Japan trip. But given the nature of this blog, it’s the geeky things you want to hear about right? ^^
Otaku highlights include the 1/1 scale Gundam in Odaiba, seeing Evangelion 2.0 in a Shibuya cinema (review to come in a later post) and discovering the ‘Akihabara of Osaka’ Den Den Town. (more…)
K-ON! Gekichuka Shu Album: Ho-Kago Tea Time August 6, 2009
Posted by ayasawada in Anime, Music, Video.Tags: Anime, K-ON, Music
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As previously noted on this blog, I liked, but wasn’t blown away by K-ON! as a series and was somewhat disappointed by the music scenes. That’s not to say I didn’t like some of the songs though.
A few weeks ago a K-ON! mini album was released. K-ON! Gekichuka Shu Album: Ho-Kago Tea Time is a really short compilation of the four insert songs from the series: Curry Nochi Rice, Watashi no Hochi Kisu, Fude Pen ~Ball Pen~ and Fuwa Fuwa Time (the latter having been released as a single already. And yes, the song titles are slightly embarrassing ^^;)
I have to say, since I got this I haven’t been able to stop listening to it. I still find Fuwa Fuwa Time catchy, but not incredible, and Curry Nochi Rice isn’t really that good a song. But Watashi no Hochi Kisu and Fude Pen are out of this world.
Hochi Kisu in particular gives me goosebumps every time I hear the opening riff, particularly on the live version. I guess it reminds me of that dreamy moment in the series when Azusa walks in to the hall and hears the band playing for the first time (see video below). It’s just got a wonderful high-school nostalgia feel about it and is incredibly mushy, particularly with Yui’s (Toyosaki Aki) moe vocals.
Fude Pen ~Ball Pen~
So while I am still taken aback at K-ON!’s popularity amongst the otaku community (the amount of merchandise I saw in Japan was eye-popping) I’m not completely immune to K-ON!’s charms ^^
Japan! July 6, 2009
Posted by ayasawada in Japan, Travel.Tags: Akihabara, Anime, evangelion, Gundam, Gunpla, Hanabi, Japan, Kyoto, matsuri, Matsuyama, Osaka, Shikoku, Tokyo, Travel
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Kyoto Gion Matsuri
I’ve fallen rather behind on my posts the last few weeks (got a stack of Japanese films I’ve seen to write about, not to mention the end of the Spring anime season, several volumes of manga and a few new albums and singles CDs). This is largely because of — what else — real life getting in the way, particularly conferences and events for work. However, I’ve also been planning and preparing for my upcoming trip to the mother country. That’s right, ayasawada’s going to Japan 三回！ (more…)
K-ON! Eps 1-12 (complete) June 24, 2009
Posted by ayasawada in Anime.Tags: Anime, K-ON, KyoAni, moe, slice-of-life
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After School Teatime: Mio, Ritsu, Yui, Mugi
A fun and enjoyable, if slightly disappointing, entry to the KyoAni canon. K-ON! had a concept oozing potential: four high-school girls join the ‘light music club’, forming a band that makes music, friendship, and good clean fun.
This sort of moe slice-of-life show normally screams off-beat hit for me (I am, after all a sucker for stuff like Azumanga Daioh, Manabi Straight and Ichigo Mashimaro), and with the hallowed KyoAni at the helm I was totally expecting another Lucky Star level of greatness with awesome music scenes on a par with Suzumiya Haruhi’s infamous Live Alive episode.
But I just didn’t feel that spark. I know this is controversial, given that a lot of other anime fans have gone nuts over K-ON! (I can feel the flames already), but does it really compare with the likes of Lucky Star and Haruhi on the KyoAni classics scale? (more…)
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann the movie: Gurren-hen May 9, 2009
Posted by ayasawada in Anime.Tags: Anime, GAINAX, Gurren Lagann
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I watched the first Gurren Lagann movie the other night and it’s worth a quick post. Largely, it’s just an edit down of the first half of the TV series, but there are some changes to note.
SPOILER ALERT (more…)
Kuniyoshi April 13, 2009
Posted by ayasawada in Anime, Culture, Japan, Manga.Tags: afro samurai, Anime, Art, Japan, Kuniyoshi, Manga, origin spirits of the past, prints
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Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Sakata Kaidō-maru wrestles with a giant carp, c. 1837
A quick post to big-up the Kuniyoshi exhibition currently on at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
I went yesterday and it totally blew me away. I was expecting an interesting exhibit, but had no idea just how impressive it would be. For one thing, there are a huge number of prints to see, ranging from standard commissions of aristocracy and beautiful ladies to political satire, portrayals of famous warriors, real and fictional, and wonderful imaginative scenes of fantasy.
Putting aside the tremendous skill it takes to draw anything this good (and for the carvers to then transplant this — kanji and all — to a wood block for printing), Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s attention to detail is astounding. His understanding of posture, composition and artistic effects is extraordinary. Many of the techniques set the groundwork for modern manga — it comes out particularly strongly in the prints portraying explosions and smoke. His strokes for conveying animal fur are uncannily realistic, and his anally retentive attention to detail, particularly for kimono patterns and tattoos remarkable.
Most striking of all is the sheer dynamism of his pictures. Each of the pictures looks so alive, simply by virtue of the pose chosen and the composition of the piece. Some epic pieces have over a dozen things going on in one frame, yet it never feels as claustrophobic, overcrowded or passive as some classical European paintings I’ve seen are. To hit the point home, there is one exhibit where Kuniyoshi deliberately used a European composition instead; it seems so much duller than the other works.
As if that weren’t enough, the room after featured ‘humourous’ and satirical works with courtesans portrayed by sparrows, octopuses (octopi?) anthropomorphised into humans and ‘ghost erotica’ featuring demon vaginas and skeleton penises (I kid you not).
Being a manga fan, I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised at how much I loved this. But I honestly wasn’t expecting to see quite such a connection between the classic and the modern. It really cemented for me why I like Asian, and particularly Japanese, media quite so much: it’s just so much more imaginative and alive.
Beforehand, we attended the accompanying anime season at the Curzon Soho, watching Origin: Spirits of the Past. Nicely animated, but a bit of a poor man’s Nausicaa. Not a great weekend of anime watching overall, since a surprise Gonzo screening at the Barbican turned out to be Afro Samurai Resurrection, which is not really my cup of tea :p
Clannad~after story Eps 1-24 (Complete) April 8, 2009
Posted by ayasawada in Anime.Tags: Anime, Clannad, KyoAni
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A quick post on the ending of Clannad. Most of what I said in my earlier post remains true.
SPOILER WARNING
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Gundam 00 second season Ep 1-25 (complete) April 5, 2009
Posted by ayasawada in Anime.Tags: Anime, Gundam, Gundam 00
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Another year, another Gundam series finishes its run. Gundam 00 finally ended with the end of its second season last week.I do like the split season idea. Kind of keeps things from getting boring over a 50 episode arc and raises anticipation. This worked well with Code Geass and Gundam 00, so am hoping they do something similar for the new Full Metal Alchemist and whatever new show follows.
So Gundam 00. For me, it was a bit of a mixed bag. Overall, I liked it, but was rather disappointed. It was fun without being very profound, considering it has the usual epic Gundam themes of war, peace and human evolution. It certainly got me more pointlessly excited than any other Gundam series I remember, even if every time it ultimately climaxed in ridiculousness :p Yes, I know it’s one big toy advert and most Gundam series inevitably end with a big confusing fight, but good Gundam, with a proper, engaging story arc and characters (like the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta, or even SEED) can be so great I can’t help but feel disappointed.
SPOILER WARNING
