Sunday Watchlist 2

It is Sunday again, which means time for another list of all of the anime I have been/will be slaughtering my weekend productivity with. If you are looking for a way to rip the entrails from the corpse of any pretension of accomplishment, get on this.

Eat Man
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=143
I know virtually nothing about this series, other than what I have read on ANN and bakabt, but two things made me want to experience it. First, someone on bakabt described it as having the best hero since Vampire Hunter D, so hell yeah. Second, the characters power to eat metal, assemble it in his stomach, and cause it to appear in his hand later is fucking brilliantly insane.

Eat Man '98
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=143
for obvious reasons, see the thing you just read

Pandora Hearts
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10436
I was directed to this series by a reviewer I trust, and am really looking forward to continuing it after watching the first two episodes yesterday. Hopefully it will not flatten part way in, and keep up the momentum.

Look for an Eat Man/Eat Man '98 double review in the next few days, either for tuesday or for Vintage Wednesday (incorrectly named vintage tuesday in the first post), and learn wether or not watching a lunatic eat metal and guns before manifesting them out of nowehere is as amazing as it sounds.

Vintage Tuesday: 1

Wednesday is, going forward, vintage anime day. Why today? because I wanted to review something vintage and today is Wednesday, so let's give this blog some structure. For my first trick, Galaxy Express 999 (the series, not the movie that summarizes the series). Aside from being one of my all time favorites, and part of my early anime craze/fever/obsession/sandwich, this series is consistently heralded as one of the hallmarks of vintage anime, a true standard. The plot follows the adventures of a young ruffian's attempt to procure life-altering surgery. 

"In a distant future, Tetsuro is a human boy who wants his body replaced with a robotic one. This is possible, but to do so he has to reach the Immortal Planet onboard the space train Galaxy Express 999. Maetel, a beautiful and mysterious blonde woman dressed in Russian style, joins him in the long journey through space. Every episode sees our heroes arriving in a new planet's space train station."

Anime News Network 
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=1361

 A part of the infamous Leiji-verse (a collection of ovas, t.v. shows, etc that all occur in Leiji Matsumoto's brain-child contiguous universe), this show dazzles in several ways. The art is ahead of its time in style and detail, with innovations that mirror film in everything from lens flares to motion tracking, while simultaneously detailing an ethereal and surreally beautiful background for all of the events to play out on. Character design strikes an excellent balances here as well, with the soft lines and enlarged features of the era coupling with realistic movement and empathy inducing expressions of emotion in body movement and facial expression. Seeing such prototypically beautiful and yet relateably human characters move through a soft, inviting space of childhood dreams proves to be a visually stunning experience. 

Character and thematic development is the other central element of this vintage badassery. On one hand, the characters possess a certain linearity in their goals and motivations. This is more of a strategic decision than laziness in construction, however, as the different motivations and overriding goals in each of the central characters serve as psychological profiles of different real and very intense human motivations. Also, the reactiveness of the characters to significant events throughout the series is presented in a manner that testifies to their authenticity as well as their emotion range; few series will make you feel so much for the characters victories and failures, their suffering and happiness. 

This is an anime that requires you be in for the long haul, plot often circles around minor events and their emotional ramifications, but major crisis and action are present with sufficient frequency to maintain steady plot movement. Either as a historical piece, a visual festival, or an emotional ride-along, this anime will not fail to satisfy any but the most "modern animation driven" watcher.

Sunday Anime Watchlost

It is a Sunday, I do not have to work, it is time to anime hard for the day. Here is what I will be watching today, and the order (if I have time for all of it)

Dragon Drive
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=1167

Aoi Hana
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10672

Neo Ranga
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=1052

Kurogane Communication
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=335

Martian Successor Nadesico
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=42

and, time permitting

Martian Successor Nadesico: the motion picture - prince of darkness
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=1010

and to think, i was going to spend the day playing torchlight 2

Since I'm not popular, I'll write a review.

WataMote is todays anime of choice, a slice of life title about a seminal favorite subject, the schoolgirl. The existence of a schoolgirl as subject is about the only typical thing about this show, however, as it strays far from the normal tropes of slice of life anime. The first thing that struck me about WataMote (because it is the first thing I saw) was the opening theme. I have little familiarity with Japanese metal, but if this theme is any indication, it is awesome. The track is Watashi ga Motenai no wa dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui! (No matter how I look at it, it's you guys' fault I'm not popular!) by Konomi Suzuki and Kiba of Akiba, and delivers a ridiculously energetic scream/shred fest of pure angst goodness, coupled with some visuals of a similar tone, perfectly contrasted to the frequently calm feel of the day to day episodes. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what about this intro was so compelling, but the energy strikes such a …okay shut the fuck up right? It's the cool song people. The episode titling is somewhat unusual as well, taking the form of the title of this review, with the independent clause changing (she does not write anime reviews). This format not only gives a moderate indication of what absurd struggle for friendship will be in the episode, it also reminds the watcher of the constant feeling of isolation the main character lives with. between these two features, it becomes easier to feel for her each episode, and so far we have not made it past the introduction.
    Moving to the substance of the show, the average episode is a 3rd person follow of the primary character's attempt to become socially active, or even make a friend in the first place. Their is very little dialogue for the majority of these scenes, which means that almost all voice is internal monologue from our (not really) hero. Not only does this pull the watcher even more into her psyche as it struggles to mature, it allows insight into the margins of her feeling of isolation. This is the strange tension that makes the show so hit and miss depending on your preferences; integration with her struggle makes the expectation of advancement or success unavoidable, but that expectation is constantly denied. This series is short, but even shorter is the plot development, which stays limited to constant failure and optimism in the face of it. Wether or not this is a valuable plot point (because there is only one) is too philosophical a question for casual reviews, and does not really effect the shows entertainment factor. Instead, simply watch it if you are looking for something unusual in format that fly in the face of normal paradigms of plot development and you will certainly enjoy it. If you don't, I do not really care, I did and I get to write the reviews. unless you want to write reviews. hit me up yo.

This appears to be the first post. It is about Monster. Monster post.

In honor of my background, we here at my-cat-and-I industries have decided to kick things off with one of my all time favorite anime, the criminally (get it...criminally...you will in a minute) under-rated thriller Monster. A Kaze production, directed by Masayuki Kojima, this 2004 to 2005 series manages one of the most compelling linear story lines I have encountered in the past decade. While many anime staples have run for 100 plus episodes without slipping particularly in terms of plot, Monster is able to deliver 74 episodes revolving around the same essential conflict and character development arc without ever seeming to stagnate or repeat. There are certainly some slow periods, so if constant action is your cup of tea, this thriller is probably not for you, but these periods also contain some of the most artful character development, and the intensity that surrounds them makes it well worth the wait, even where development focused periods would normally turn viewers off.

The central plot is a relatively straightforward mystery/thriller.

"Kenzou Tenma, a Japanese brain surgeon in Germany, had it all: incredible skill at his work, a rich and beautiful fiancee, and a promising career at his hospital. However, after becoming disenchanted by hospital politics, he chose to save the life of a young boy who got shot in the head over the life of the mayor. As a result he lost the support of the hospital director, as well as his position in the hospital and his fiance. A short time later, the hospital director and the doctors that replaced him were murdered, and once again he was catapulted back onto the top. But as the chief suspect of the murders, Tenma did not get a easy life. As a matter of fact, it seems that the boy he saved was much more than he had appeared to be... Now to clear his name and to correct his past mistake, Tenma must get to the bottom of these and other murders, and investigate the truth of the Monster who is behind all of this."
Anime News Network 
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=3750

The basic plot does little justice to the narrative experience, however, as the show sucks you in through a startlingly compelling depiction of the psychological experiences of the central characters. The internal dialog and directorial decisions go a long way towards making the suspense, fear, and desperation of Tenma and his pursuers relate-able to the point of being mildly consuming. This simple mystery is somehow able to keep you guessing, while making even the forgone conclusions hair-raising reveals. A central component of this comes from the character development, as the changes seen in Tenma and the "monster" are a refreshing departure from the norm. Neither begins the series with the tough demeanor or savvy that is usually expected from their roles, nor do they develop their skills as pursuer and killer through some single traumatic incident. Instead, the composite experiences that form changes in a persons identity are given full explication throughout many episodes, no change is instant or individually drastic. 

Monster is not all stand out characteristics, however. Especially to fans unused to anime of the first few decades, its animation can leave much to be desired. I don't want to give the impression that Monster is poorly animated, far from it, but it's images, reminiscent of mid century American crime novellas or late 80's ova's will certainly seem lacking in flash. To that I say, fucking deal with it and enjoy the classics, but if more unusual or complex animation is one of the deciding factors in your anime selection, this may be a piece to wait on. Good but not great animation can certainly be forgiven for most, however, with a series this immersive. 

All in all, Monster is an excellent anime for any but the youngest of anime fans, though not a particular recommendation for those who are looking for action and fast paced development. One final recommendation, make sure you have plenty of time if you want to start Monster, as it is not really a series you can take in one episode at a time. With so many cliff hangers (hate that phrase) and suspenseful moments, it will leave you frustrated and wondering unless given appropriate time allocation. Let's be honest though, if you are taking the time to read this review, you, like me, probably spend more time watching anime than you should anyway. 

Well, this has been the first installment of shit you don't care about. See you next time, 3 people reading this, set something important on fire before then.