Year In Review: N-Squared List
Just like last year, I guess some things have not changed. This could be a reference.
It’s an Asura Cryin’ Shame When Good Girls Go Bad
There’s something weird about Asura Cryin’ that I can’t quite put my finger on. The show itself has a very compelling set of characteristics. The characterizations are hit and miss but they are all come across interestingly conceptually. The plot is overall solid even if unfolded in a way that can be a turn-off for those who can’t do nonlinear storytelling. The core conflict is a bit cliche, like a second-rate console RPG from Japan, even in the way in how it aspires to be something more than the sum of its parts.
[Is this how it feels to watch Nanoha StrikerS? ]
The way people fight among each other to keep their Asura Crying/Daughter/Demon nonsense in check was just child’s play to the equally nonsensical “saving the world” main plot arc. It really helped the show when it begin that story arc because it put everything into context of everything else that has happened/explained in the show. It is as if every episode gives the viewer a random piece of the jigsaw puzzle but you don’t know what the final picture is until the last story arc begins.
What was most compelling about the show was its set of “good girls.” Because almost every girl in the show is a “good girl.” Even the bad ones. What is a “good girl” (henceforth GG) and why do I put quotes around it? I think this is a concept I first picked up from people talking about some of the characters from Simoun, who stepped up to the plate and did what dirty business they had to do to preserve their ideals. Like Mamiina, right? But the concept applies to all sorts of valiant, angst-tormented girls that are somewhat commonly found in anime, who, despite what prior acts they may have committed, finally align their morally understandable and commendable motives with “the right thing to do” at the time, and exits the stage on that high note.
Leaders of the Pack: 2000-2009
I used to keep somewhat-up-to-date top 10 lists for several categories, including favorite characters and favorite anime. It’s a tool to introspect, and an excuse for said exercise, so why not revamp my top list of anime at the end of 2009 and make it 2000-2009 only? Two birds with one stone, so they say.
Ultimately it’s an excuse for me to migrate some writing from elsewhere to here.
I originally baselined the list about five and a half years ago. And it hasn’t changed a whole lot in some aspects; a couple things moved and I adding a couple things. It’s a sure-fire sign that I’m an old fart, in internet terms. A new generation of netizens have already taken their place and drowned out the likes of me. Heh, remember when people used the word “netizens” and climbed hills to go to school both ways in the snow with no shoes &c?
The below is just a list of anime that I really liked in the past 10 years or so. There were some “franchises” that I was enamored with but they never really materialized in the form of an anime that I liked–Sakura Taisen being the most obvious example–so they’re off the list. And of course just because I like the anime doesn’t mean I like the other parts of the franchise, too. It really is a case-by-case analysis.
One more thing–this list is not ordered. Because it would take too long and honestly the order has no meaning beyond what it means to me, and I can’t be bothered to count any more angels on the tips of pins. So here it goes:
Millennium Actress - It is personal, as with most of this list. However I would say that I watched it during a period in my life where chasing dreams was the stuff that I wish I was doing. In some sense I still feel that I am not? The whole actress-idol angle was beside the point, although it is through that particular lens that we observe a form of beauty that can go beyond the limitations of real life. But in good Japanese tradition of mono no aware, it’s the chasing after an empty dream that beautifies, and perhaps it is the memories of that, which is eternal. Chiyoko’s fervent and undying sentiments powers her journey through time, but “Hollywood Magic” is the true substances of her dreams. No longer a person, she transforms into a conduit between her emotions and the silver screen, purer than the drab reality we’re a part of.
FLCL - Mad pimp style. In fact I still haven’t seen anything this stylish since. I mean this is a 2000-2001 show, so a lot of anime have gone past us since, in a medium that is known for its stylishness. There have been attempts, and some come pretty close, but as they bear their fangs to accomplish what they set out to do, FLCL has already been there, done that, and done it earlier. It also introduced America to the Pillows. LOL. I also think it’s the true complement to Gainax’s Evangelion. One is African-American blues stuff, and the other is, well, rock.
Scrapped Princess - I like this show for its drama and setting. While it’s fun and exciting to see how the story play out in its [super-spoiler-statement-removed], Pacifica and her siblings rise beyond just mere anime characters and into very personable entities that I see everyday. The high fantasy feel also comes across fresh and it unveiled itself like a pleasant surprise. I also blame Sutepri for dooming me to follow every blasted abortion of Ichiro Sakaki’s novel adaptations, because neither the Sutepri novels nor any of his consequent anime adaptations were up to snuff. If I had to say one key thing about Sutepri that I liked, it was Fumiko Orikasa’s Pacifica.
Rahxephon - I don’t know if I like Rahxephon, or Akihiro Yamada :) But nonetheless it’s a very pretty show that just doesn’t stop at being its own exotic, senseless shounen exposition. It has some great moments, and even blundering through its cloudy plot there’s a lot of wonderful tension. It’s also one of the best scripted giant post-Evangelion robot shows, although I can’t really vouch for the likes of Gasaraki or Betterman. The ensemble cast comes alive, albeit stubbornly, to put together enough interesting parallels and polygons to warrant a few essays at least.
Evangelion - Just because it’s mostly in 1996 doesn’t mean I can’t let it in… I added it back to my list partly because I think most of the Eva fans have already gone off and rant about other crap so it’s a topic that is generally less annoying now. Also over the years I’ve never really stopped appreciating what this show has to offer. It helps me to rewatch this because they keep on re-releasing it, lol. And what is there to appreciate? It’s definitely top notch as 90s TV anime goes, in terms of production values. The writing, designs, direction, music, theme, acting…well you can go on. It’s a perfect storm of some sort, as far as getting the right talents (and large number of them), the right crazy people, the right time and generation of Japanese people, the right way to frame the issues… So many factors contributed to its success. Lastly, the rebuilding isn’t so bad so far. Maybe I should’ve limited this entry to the Rebuilding, separate from the TV series, but that saga just started.
Manabi Straight - this is probably one of the new title I latched onto this list after a drought of personal inability to really like a show–basically it’s not to say there haven’t been many great shows to recommend others between 2004 and 2007, but this one manages to strike a chord in me that elevates it above others. It’s a feel-good high school affair with a lot of heart, but that alone wasn’t enough. What makes Manabi Straight work for me is the way the story manages to build a powerful allegory about vision and about fulfilling it. If you can cut through the cutesy loli appeal (or rationalizes it away), there’s a gem waiting for you.
Simoun - What wins with Simoun is its intricate writing to display the really odd human relationships wrapped around a very creative sci-fi/fantasy backdrop. It doesn’t help if the ensemble cast is also awesome and full of “good girls.” It’s not the kind of good girls that grace a Key game, no sirree. To me this was probably the ultimate example of the anime storytelling format in combining elements of high fantasy and drama, all together with just enough of those frown-upon meta elements that it doesn’t get in the way of the story. Unfortunately the production value was lacking in places, and it’s a difficult show to get into regardless on how you feel about yuri and fanservice. Nobody is perfect I guess.
Notable mentions–shows I like but don’t want to put on a pedestal:
GunParade March - I’m amazed that it’s still on my list, but for a romance-in-the-military story, it really captures that whole ishin-denshin idea excellently.
Witch Hunter Robin - Does goth style right. And Robin is…simply wonderful IMHO. Shukou Murase’s problem with pacing just wasn’t so pronounced here as it is with Ergo Proxy.
Ghost in the Shell TV - The unlearned man’s version of Shirow’s Ghost in the Shell. With twice of the cuteness and half the nudity! The less cat-ish Major might be more mainstream-appealing at any rate. Yes, I mean both Stand Alone Complexes and the OAV thing.
Planetes - No man’s an Island, and no man should go without seeing PLANETES because it’s awesome drama. Oh, it’s an exemplary piece of hard, near-SF with a sense of humor, too. It may also be one of the earlier no-nonsense post-911 works from Japan, as far as its vintage.
Dokkoida?! - It’s one of the best self-referential style of comedy that I can recall. The sisucon episode is perhaps the funniest and yet the most riveting episode of LOL ever. Also, in before ufotable. Futakoi Alternative gets a nod here, but I don’t think it’s got enough to make it to this list proper.
Koikaze - Speaking of sisucon, while this anime tackles a subject matter that’s all too taboo (incest), it is directed and put together with superb craftsmanship that it even does the subject matter with some justice, if at least superficially.
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - just for the fact how it raised the bar for TV animation alone is worth watching. It’s a boon that it’s also one of the best adaptation of juvenile science fiction for anime that I’ve ever seen. The out-of-order broadcast is brilliant and it is a ballsy move that paid off. Too bad Endless Eight did not; I would probably recommend season two anyways.
Full Metal Panic Fumoffu - Possibly the widest-appealing slapstick anime ever, and it manages to be not-too-gross most of the time!
Cowboy Bebop (TV, Film) - You already know this. Hi Robert Rodriguez and Quintin Tarantino! And Keanu, lol. While most of it took place before 2000, the movie didn’t come out until 2001, and for the most part Bebop is more of a “this decade” thing than a “last decade” thing anyways.
Chikyuu Shoujo Arjuna - It’s a little too new-agey for my taste, but it is a solid production with a daring message. I liked the music and the production as a whole.
ef - I’m reluctant to include this title because there hasn’t been enough time since I last watched it, but to call it a novel thing is understating the creative effort behind a seemingly plain eroge-turn-animated-companion. I’m not sure if it rises fully to the occasion however, as only the test of time will tell.
Xam’d - Like Haruhi, it belongs to this list just because it is animated like a champ, and the rest of the package is quite above average. I think it makes a cheap substitute for Eureka 7, at half the length and twice the visual goodness in exchange for a less satisfying story. Still to some the story might stand stronger than those who are more picky about linearity.
True Tears - There is something oddish about this show which just doesn’t make it stand out beyond its harem trapping, even if it most deservedly is beyond that. Characterization and production value are top notch. It’s almost needless to say that True Tears is a charming affair, no matter who you root for.
Rurouni Kenshin (OAVs, Kyoto Arc) - It’s possibly the only shounen fight anime that I truly liked, and probably the last. And the 4-episode OAV (or 1, director’s cut) of the Tomoe tragedy… It’s just so good, even if it lacks the grit of what we typically associate with samurai films. In its place we get a very early taste of, say, and euphoric field kind of thing. I can’t really say much about the TV series though, besides that it’s an enjoyable rump with some worthwhile meme powers even so many years after. Besides that, it is a 90s show. Unlike Bebop, the Kenshin experience is a very 90s kind of thing anyways, so I don’t want to highlight it (much).
That’s more or less it. I know this list skews old, especially considering the volume of anime available the last 5 years, but passing the test of time is a major criteria for me, and a lot of the shows in recent years just don’t stand out too much, you know?
For a very different list but possibly even more a trip down memory lane, check out Psgel’s. There are other holiday festivities that may grace this site, as such.
[edit: I removed Utena the Movie, because I don’t think it’s a 2000+ title if we go by the screening dates! I don’t know why I thought so the first place.]
N-list Self-Diagnostics
Mentioned here via Ani-note–basically, your favorite anime say something about you. No brainer. But it’s fun. And I’m in the mood to write some no-brainers.
As corollary, any kind of list which exercises the arbitrary selection process (eligible for copyright?) is probably saying more about the entity that makes the list than the list itself. Which is to say most top-n-entity survey lists are pretty dumb because it’s put together by a mob of people. Or it’s probably worth pointing out that your #2-5s say more about you than your #1!
I’m due to redo my top-10 lists anyways, so here’s a glimpse.
Personal favorites:
- Nadesico (Mainly just the TV show)
- Magic Knight Rayearth (Season 1 mostly)
- Excel Saga (Possibly the only Nabeshin show I truly loved)
- Millennium Actress (It formed a personal connection with me)
- Cowboy Bebop (It’s here because it’s an easy pick, and it includes the film, surely)
Even as I say this, only #1 and occasionally #3 pop into my mind from time to time. #5 comes in a lot in the context of Yoko Kanno, and while it has some mainstream appeal, it’s the only timeless context that is relevant to me on any sort of day-to-day basis. Because I would rather it look like:
- Manabi Straight
- Utena
- FLCL
- Simoun
- RahXehpon
I suspect if I didn’t watch anime in the 90s, it would have looked a lot more like that. Well, wait, I might have dropped RahXephon and FLCL because those shows work more powerfully if you have context in terms of other anime you have seen, although they are both quite potent by themselves.
There’s room for more play, for example, top 5 favorite anime films:
- Millennium Actress
- Utena the movie
- Whisper of the Heart
- Porco Rosso
- 5 Centimeters per Second
I think it’s sort of self-evident what kind of second-gen fan I am. Need more help? Favorite comedies:
- Full Metal Panic Fumoffu
- Excel Saga
- Karekano (This is more a glimpse of how I think of this show than any statement about Karekano being funny)
- Ebichu (Just had to)
- Azumana Daioh
Favorite artsy-housey tee vee (getting really specific here):
- Koi Kaze
- Haibane Renmei
- Yamamoto Yohko
- Witch Hunter Robin
- Earth Girl Arjuna
To-Heart and Hidamari Sketch would almost qualify…
And that’s a wrap. So much exhibitionist tendencies satisfied in one single post. Yea, I’m kind of not in a mood to write. It’s like I poured all my motivation into 3 tl;dr drafts talking about the same thing in three different ways, but I don’t feel comfortable posting them orz. Forgive me for boring you with a post that I normally wouldn’t do.
Charting Simoun’s Adult-Child Divide
So a bunch of us were just talking about the children in Simoun, and as they age and fight wars, they have to make some tough choices. This post will echoing some of my own thoughts on the matter. Here is a heads up: there will be some spoilers–not that this post would make a lot of sense without understanding Simoun anyways.
Should you brave the rest, do yourself the favor and watch it, or at least read about it.
Presumably, a mark of adulthood is choosing one’s gender–going to the Spring. The not-only-symbolic act has multiple dimensions to it, the one that struck me the most is of when and of what context each of the girls undergo the choosing. If we can say the moment a gender is selected, they reach some societal notion of adulthood, then:
1. Some people never grow up by society’s standards. That’s the easy, “Utena”/”Canvas 2″ ending.
2. People grow up through/in anticipation of romantic relationships. Several of the major characters in the show ended up paired with someone else, only to select their gender in accordance with their spouses. I believe some characters also either selected or contemplated such choice in anticipation of someone they like to get hooked up with. To some extent it is a logical choice, and follows the way how real life society prepares some (even many) adolescent kids. I guess there could be a side chapter in Simoun in which a teenager, not unlike Rodoreamon’s circumstances, is forced to choose a gender to vie for familial power and wealth through inter-clan marriage. (Perhaps it’ll involve a mermaid. Better yet, imagine the setting as applied to Gonzo’s Romeo x Juliet, in which the turning-of-age Akai Kaze decides to be a man in order to shoulder the burden of revenge! Yaoi bait indeed.)
More realistically, the average Rodoreamon would just either become a priestess as long as possible, or submit to his or her role in fate, perhaps thanks to the bonds formed through clansmanship or some sense of familial pride, almost nationalism in form.
3. Lastly, we have the impoverished, war-torn, pollution-filled third world babies who were made male days after they were born. Those who aren’t become suicide bombers?
And that’s just going to the Spring.
Another notion about the Simoun adult-child divide is actually one that challenges our understanding about ideals. For instance, what kind of adults would send an army of kids into war? I believe this was always a backdrop to the show that never was brought forward explicitly (perhaps alluded during the episodes when the Theocracy army coordinated their attacks with Chor Tempest). It makes sense when you are one of those invading countries where childhood is a luxury and those who enjoy it pay with their lives, but it doesn’t make sense when you are affluent and capable of sustaining that lifestyle.
So the question turns around–the Chor Tempest all “graduated” with something admirable left in their veins. Some started humble trades and families, others tended to war orphans and other charities. A few gave themselves to individualism and in search of personal happiness. And then some are deemed to be eternally lost, yet also as never-ending symbols of the ideas Chor Tempest fought for. Some died to save others. But what are these ideas? It is surely not land, wealth and power. But it may very well be things equally petty, like a measure of personal happiness at the expense of personal responsibilities, or even pride.
Is it some fleeting sense of beauty that blossomed under the glass house of powerless individualism?
Perhaps all of that answer to why is Neviril still in it; why she became a girl who leapt through time.
Not quite like death and taxes, but the visit to the Spring is still an inevitability. Dominura and Yun’s stories are great examples in where such details are equally potent as the main points of their stories. However what the characters make of their lives before or after the graduation don’t really matter, if they still live by those ideals. At the same time, society does not identify them by their ideals, but rather by their occupations; mere labels. Is this why Simoun’s drama unfold at first via the flourishing of status-bickering for Neviril and her elite rank?
To speak of another moment in which a child’s mind is blown, I find the Dominura/Rimone pairing particularly challenging in that this is the logically-minded, intellectual couple, forged on a relationship that is probably the purest of them all. The turning point was when Dominura opened the FOUNT OF SPIRAL ENERGYSimoun craft to investigate its supernatural powers; and as such demonstrated actually that she was the only scientifically-thinking gal in the group. Maturity through forbidden knowledge? Or is it more like the Original Sin? At any rate, along with Rimone, who follows instructions like the prophet Samuel encountering his Lord for the first time, they decided to do it and see what the hell is going on.
But will they be remembered by their single-minded search for self and truth? Probably not.
And what’s delicious is just how people react to the heterosexual/homosexual/asexual pairings in the show. It’s as if the fans of Simoun is playing right into its satirical jab on society; but that is okay. Us hardcore fans are like huge, overgrown kids, right?
