Jan

14

Winter 2010 anime

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A quick run-down of some of the new season: it’s said than no Japanese animation is entirely without interest, but with several of this season’s offerings that observation is put to the test!

Katanagatari – (trailer). Samurai swordsman fantasy stuff – didn’t pique my interest.

Dance in the Vampire Bund – Irritating TV show in opening episode, but in the last scene we meet some sexy-looking, under-dressed and violent female vampires, so could be worth following if this is what you like.

Ookami Kakushi – transfer student arrives in town full of mystery, and immediately  finds a cute girl hurling herself at him, and other students seem to like him too. However the opening credits are full of supernatural violence.  Do we want to explore the mystery, or are we just too irritated to care?

Chu-Bra – about a schoolgirl who is fascinated by adult underwear.  If you are a teenage girl, it could be quite educational; if not, best just leave quietly…

Sora no Woto – about a girl who joins the army and gets herself posted to a troop of female soldiers, with the idea of learning the trumpet. Setting is a cod-European pastiche. The lead character, Kanata, is utterly and irresistibly cute – but hold on a moment – this is from the same pen as “K-on!” and the character designs are rather similar, so maybe just digging out “K-on!” and re-running it might be a better idea.

Baka to Test to Shokanju - set in a school where the thickest students get the worst facilities, but can challenge the elite classes to a contest to swap rooms.  Contains many of the usual school comedy elements but very funny, could be worth following.

Cobra the Animation – Old fashioned all-action sci-fi adventure.  Note that the under-dressed female eye-candy are scrumptious and definitely Women, not schoolgirls, so no need for embarrassment about your viewing tastes if you’re over a certain age.

Durarara poster Durarara!! – at last something decent this season. A well-paced opening episode that delivers a lot of exposition and introduction of characters without getting bogged down.  The background is the streets of Tokyo by night, there’s some violent action from a masked black motorcyclist, and an on-screen blog that comments on the events. Plenty of reasons to look forward to episode 2.

Jan

14

The City of Lost Children (movie)

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The City of Lost Children – Jeunet & Caro.  A fantastic live-action French movie by the creators of Delicatessen.  It’s full of fabulous stuff: in a seaport, children are stolen by a group of blind men wearing cybernetic “eyes”, nasty Siamese twins send out a group of children to steal valuables, and a group of clones experiment with dreams.  In a comic-book touch that will doubtless appeal to fans of Japanese animation, the  principal character “Crumb” is a clever, resourceful and pretty young girl clad in a red dress. She helps “One” the side-show strongman track down a stolen boy, his “little brother”.

Most of the characters are grotesques, and in one case I had to resort to the “extras” to confirm that the actor really looked like his on-screen character and wasn’t digitally altered! Judith Vittet who plays Crumb is just brilliant. Though only nine years old when the movie was made, she was very professional and apparently corrected the continuity of the other young actors. Ron Perlman as “One” is also very good.

“City of Lost Children” looks fantastic, contains lots of cool scenes and unlike many fantasy films doesn’t have a plot that insults the intelligence of a five-year old, though it is a bit obscure in places.  One of the best fantasy movies I’ve seen.

Jan

14

Memories of Matsuko (movie)

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Memories of Matsuko (2006) dir Tetsuya Nakashima.  A young man is asked by his father to clear the flat of an aunt he didn’t know existed, who has just died. Aunt Matsuko was a young teacher whose life was ruined after she unwisely defended a boy accused of stealing.  Forced to resign, and rejected by her family, she descends into a seedy underworld of massage parlours and violent boyfriends, living out her later years in eccentric isolation.

A hard-hitting movie and one of the best live-action Japanese movies I’ve seen.

Jan

2

Additions to anime database

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Just added entries on Aoi Hana, Toukyo Magnitudo 8, Bakemonogatari, Nyan Koi, Sasameki Koto, Kimi ni Todoke and Aoi Bungaku (Japanese titles) to my database (see link to left or via WEBSITE).
It took ages. I wonder why I still do this. Blogging is much less laborious.