"Under the outer wrapping of an angst-filled tragedy of anime proportions is a core of good story"

[larryhammer]

The difference between feeling like crap and feeling like crap warmed over is small but immensely frustrating.

*honk* *snrfl*

---

OTOH, catching a cold means also catching up on random anime.

Planetes ep 1-5: If this isn't the anime poster-boy for the Mundane SF Movement, it ought to be. It's blue-collar office drama set in the orbital debris cleanup section of a corporate space station. There's the usual assortment of characters, including the naive newbie paired with the cynical sempai, and not just one but two pointy-haired boss types -- fortunately more ineffectual than anything. The science fiction is pretty hard, though sometimes the orbital mechanics are not always quite on,* and things don't tumble quite enough in zero g, but otherwise the animators seem to know what they're doing. Hasn't snorked me in, but I'm looking forward to more.

Someday's Dreamers ep 1-4: I was not impressed by the manga, despite it looking like exactly my sort of thing. The anime, by expanding the cast and world, plugs many of my concerns by expanding the consequences of having mages in society -- by increasing the regulations involved. It doesn't do it perfectly -- Angela is an interesting character, but adding her to a story that is Yume's alone in the manga weakens the episode considerably. I may continue, if I can do so cheaply enough.

My Neighbor Totoro: Comfort watching. I still loves this to pieces, but I'm not sure it's a complete story. There's a beginning, and a middle with a bunch of episodes, but the end seems to be entirely the conclusion of the last episode than of the whole. It would be interesting to watch this as a double-feature with Grave of the Fireflies, as they were in theatrical release, but that would mean watching Grave of the Fireflies again, and I'm not yet up for that -- the parallels and contrasts are interesting.

His and Her Circumstances aka Kare Kano ep 1-6: Not comfort watching. Has to be the most frenetic and surreal high school romantic comedy drama I've seen, and I include Kodocha in that. Though that's partly because in Kodocha the frenetic is done for comedy and here's it's for drama. The anime was done by the creators of Neon Genesis Evangelion right after producing that, and, well, it shows. I likes, but, um, not restful. Definitely looking for the rest.


* You do not easily rendezvous with an object in a cometary orbit from near earth orbit. Just sayin'.

---L.

Comments

[oracne.livejournal.com]

Blech. I am sick too, but no so sick I couldn't do all my normal stuff. Not sure if this is good or not.

[larryhammer]

I'm back at work today, and more or less regretting it.

---L.

[afraclose.livejournal.com]

Kare Kano more surreal than Kodocha? I beg to differ...no giant mallets or babbits on Kare Kano.

Have you read the manga of either? A bit less surreal on both ends, and much more calming.

Hope you feel better soon.

[larryhammer]

Giant squeek mallets, no less.

Actually, I'm more familiar with the manga of both -- I've only seen a couple episodes of Kodocha but read it through, and am up to, um, something like volume 14 of Kare Kano. True about the bat-creature, but the visual representation of the whatshername's emotional states can get ... frenetic. As opposed to Sana just being frenetic.

---L.

[afraclose.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes. I relish the Kodocha manga, for there is lack of Babbitness. I'm around about volume 10 on the Kare Kano manga, and it's so sad how...short the anime for that series was. And I'm not just speaking of the length.

[larryhammer]

To be fair, as I understand it they stopped the anime when they caught up with the manga, rather than continue the story into the wild blue yonder a la FMA. Still, yeah, it'd be nice to have a version that goes all the way to the end.

I kinda like Babbit. Though not as much as the squeek mallets. I ♥ the squeek mallets.

---L.

[afraclose.livejournal.com]

Squeakmallets rock. <^^>

I even found my very own at a party goods store. It keeps its place of honor on my bookshelf.

[larryhammer]

*is jealous*

[jennifer-j-s.livejournal.com]

I hope you are feeling lots better soon, Larry.

I love My Neighbor Totoro! I think that is a good one to watch when you are sick. I tend to start rereading all the Oz books, and if really sick, just my favorites.

P.S. Sunday PBS is doing Mansfield Park.

[larryhammer]

Mansfield yay!

I resorted, at first, to rereading Protector of the Small.

---L.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Aww, that's one of my younger daughter's favorite books :-) (protector... not mansfield)

[larryhammer]

Mansfield Park was my favorite Austen when I was 15.

I use this as evidence that I was prig when I was teenager.

---L.

[jennifer-j-s.livejournal.com]

It's funny -- we have comfort food and we have comfort books. Rereading an old favorite is like sitting down to a bowl of macaroni and cheese (made from scratch, of course).

[larryhammer]

Yup.

Yotsuba&! (her of the icon) is one of my other comfort readings.

---L.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I never cried so hard, probably ever, as I did at Grave of the Fireflies. It touched all my buttons. Saw it at the same time as one of my Japanese lit professors, an ancient guy, now retired, and when we were leaving, he made some wry remark about the level of tragedy... I was too swollen eyed and runny nosed to respond with aplomb.

which is all to say... I can see how you might not be up to seeing it again, yet.

I think the credits of My Neighbor Totoro go a long way to finishing out the rest of the story. You see the mom come home, you see the kids healthy and having fun with their new chums, you even see a new baby, though it doesn't necessarily have to be a sibling for the sisters. Life goes on... a looming threat has been averted.

[larryhammer]

Ghibli likes to do ever-after stuff during the credits -- they were also effective in Nausicaa. Though, I've always interpretted the baby as a neighbor's. Especially since I've always been convinced the mother has TB, even though there's zero internal evidence.* Hmm.

Grave of the Fireflies is very much a tragedy -- complete with a hero whose strengths create the tragic fall.

* Poking about, apparently Miyazaki has stated that it is TB. Ha!

---L.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I always thought TB as well--and I kind of thought the baby might be the neighbors' as well, though I wanted it to be theirs... but why would TB preclude it being theirs?

[larryhammer]

It doesn't directly -- but the credits show scenes running from summer through autumn to winter/new years, implying it's just the near future. Recovery from TB and pregnancy aren't the most compatable of conditions.

---L.

[kate_nepveu]

I disliked the manga of _Planetes_, so I'll be interested to hear what the anime's like.

[larryhammer]

I didn't so much dislike the manga as was bored -- never got past volume 1. Which is interesting, because the anime starts with Tanabe's arrival, in volume 2. Will be interesting to see if later episodes focus on Fee, the way the manga does. Especially since the opening credits give Hachi primacy -- through much of them, he's running continuously towards the viewer, with the occasional stumble.

---L.

[kate_nepveu]

Is she bearable animated?

[larryhammer]

She's not unholy awful, at any rate. On screen, you get the timing of her and Hachi's bickering, which I suspect helps a little. We'll see how I feel about her in later episodes.

---L.

[larryhammer]

(I am possibly unholy amused at Tanabe's typical response to "You copy?", which is "I copy desu.")

---L.

[janni.livejournal.com]

Consider yourself under strict orders not to watch Grave of the Fireflies while both home alone and sick. Once either one of these changes, you can go ahead and watch what you will.

This is your anime doctor speaking. Or something. :-)

[larryhammer]

:-)

Not to worry, since we don't actually have it in house.

---L.