Shingeki no Kyojin – The Mystery of the Titan
You live within walls within walls. Terrified of a race of humongous beings that appear to be increase in numbers without any obvious mating habits (or female counterparts for that matter). The big daddies of them all are huge The Bodies Exhibit monstrosities. Some even come armored. Our hero, Eren Jaeger, has vowed to destroy these giants that eat humans with abandon and terrify the townsfolk. The question is: What are these giants and where do they come from? Eren’s father seems to have some idea which was alluded to in the first episode in which he tells Eren he has something to show him in the basement. Not to mention, in a following episode, Eren wakes up with the key to the basement around his neck that his father forcefully gave to him in the midst of an extremely realistic dream. I suspect that the giants come from humans themselves and Eren’s father, the dear old doctor knows the how and why. If you’ve read the manga, you probably know everything already but I haven’t so all I have are guesses.
Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) is intriguing and I’m currently enjoying it. It is one of my favorites for the current season at this time. I’m so glad this show comes on Sundays because otherwise it would be difficult for me to keep up with. It is apparent that the titans are intelligent and its clear that Eren is just figuring this out himself. Not sure how he didn’t realize it until 5 episodes down the line. Those Titans aren’t smiling for nothing. They know that humans apparently are tasty. This is a show about cannibalism if I ever did see. The Titans are an experiment gone terribly wrong (this is pure conjecture). I’m assuming its all in Dexter’s Lab, I mean, Dr. Jaeger’s basement.
There is also a hint of class differences in the series and the use of “expendable” individuals to fight against the Titans. There is the lord playing chess with a solider (I believe he is a commander) who immediately leaves when the walls are threatened. The lord begins cowering in terror and begging the soldier to stay with him where he lives in his posh estate. This lord is plump and jovial which contrasts drastically with the people of the towns being attack by the Titans who are hard-working, small in stature, hard-faced. The class difference is also addressed in the training with some really wanting to be a part of the military police brigade because they are the soldiers that serve the King who is deep within the walls and sees virtually no Titan action. The higher in class you are, the more likely you have less fear of being sacrificed to the Titans as human lambs.
There is Mikasa Ackerman whom we have yet to learn the relationship between her and Eren. We know that his family were raising her but we know that she is not his relative by blood. She is very protective of Eren and was charged by his mother to watch over him as he is wont to get himself in trouble. The most recent episode gave us a preview of the upcoming episode in which the mystery of Mikasa will be resolved. I’m sure she has a pretty exciting story to tell. Even before the time jump and they aged into young adults, as a girl, in the glimpses we had of her personality, we saw a darkness and sadness within and a most impressive strength. I look forward to watching about her story.
I know I have lost a few followers due to my hiatus but for those who are still checking in, are you watching this show? If so, what are your thoughts?
Spring 2013 Anime
So most of you probably already know what you are watching. I am extremely behind on the coming and goings of the anime world right now. Who knew planning a wedding could take so much of your time? Who knew I would actually miss blogging? I never realized how cathartic it was for me to blog about anime. Though this is not a “feelings” blog, it still makes me feel better about whatever else is going on in my life when I blog. Maybe its because I’m blogging about something I truly love and that having a hobby really is good for the soul. I feel less like a passive anime fan when I blog and more of an active one. I feel more involved when I blog because otherwise I simply watch it when I can and talk to no one about it.
With all that said, here is an image of the spring anime. And if the image isn’t big enough for you or doesn’t do what it is supposed to do when you click it, check it here.
There is Aku no Hana, in which I watched the first episode on Crunchyroll. There was a sense of foreboding throughout the whole episode. And the episode was very slow but for some reason, I liked it. I really liked that the characters truly look Japanese, the animation used rotorscoping (just learned about this technique because of this show!), and it seems downright weird. I’m going to keep watching to see where it takes us. Oh, and Space Battleship Yamato (Uchuu Senkan Yamato) is back. I might watch that, too.
Where am I going to find the time to watch these shows? I have no idea. I figure I can find time somewhere in my life to watch it. Such as on the train or at the doctor’s office. So what are you watching or planning to watch?
Love, Despair, Defeat…Canaan
Hello, everyone! Its been a while. How have you all been? You have no idea how much I have missed blogging. I am still not coming back in full until mid-July but I just completed watching Canaan and I felt that I had to blog about it. I don’t have as much time to keep up with current anime but I have found it easier to watch anime that has already been completed. I took a couple of days off from work so I was able to marathon a couple of shows, Blood+ (I may blog about this experience someday) and Canaan. Canaan, I was able to finish as it was 13 episodes but Blood+ at 50 episodes, nope.
Canaan started out great. Lots of action, intrigue, mysterious character who had synesthesia, a condition in which she identified things by their colors (simplified definition). This mysterious character, Canaan who was found by an assassin, Siam, after her whole village was destroyed. Siam named Canaan and trained her to be an expert killer. We are introduced to Canaan by her impressive abilities as a fighter when she saves Maria Osawa from being killed by at first glance, appears to be some crazed men wearing animal head masks. These men upon losing their masks, appear to go into a violent fit in which they began hemorrhaging, bleeding out their eyes, noses, and mouths, then promptly dying. Great stuff, I tell you. This is just the first episode. I’m thinking, wow, this show is going to be awesome! And it is, for the first three to five episodes.
We are introduced to the UA virus, a virus that has caused catastrophic consequences. It gives “special powers” to some but has a high cost. We learn of that cost later in the series but its still not really fleshed out the full mechanics of the virus. We are introduced to the leader of Snake, a terrorist organization who goes by the name Alphard who is a kick-ass bad girl whom Canaan loathes. Then there is Maria Osawa. She was the most annoying character in the show. A series that had so many elements to explore with its plot turned into a series about Osawa having to be saved every episode by Canaan. And I mean every episode. The show introduced bits such as Maria Osawa having the UA virus, forgetting that she did, her father curing her, having met Alphard before under unknown circumstances and it ignored all of that. It didn’t follow up on what happened to Osawa, why Alphard accused her of “brimming with deceit”. It completely and quickly degenerated to some type of girly drama with yuri undertones. There was a better story in this series besides Osawa being saved over and over. The show became utterly predictable and frivolous as the writers seemed to say, let’s not make this too serious or political. Yes, there were definitely some political issues in this show with terrorism, the US and it’s trigger-happiness (willing to wipe out a large group of people without having all the facts) , China/Japan relations, the UN. It was all there!
Let’s not forget, seeing a Canaan look-a-like frozen in suspension and Alphard stating “Its just a coincidence. Just a coincidence.” Then she promptly set it on fire. What was that all about? The dynamics between Alphard and Canaan also was a beautiful plot-line, much more than Canaan and Maria Osawa. The jealousy that filled Alphard regarding Canaan, the hatred that fueled Canaan regarding Alphard. It was magnificent and made for a great story. But it was all side-lined for Canaan saving Maria. That was what this show was about Canaan saving Maria. Oh, sure, I could like at the overarching aspect that they saved each other, allowed each other to grow. Canaan was shown true friendship, Maria became more mature and learned who she was and how to stand on her own. Yes, I saw that but I felt nothing for it. I wanted to know more about Canaan, more about her synesthesia, her real name, her family. I wanted to know more about Alphard, more about the UA virus. Instead, this anime did to me what a lot of anime from 2008 to the present has started doing, grasped my interest in the beginning, let me down in the end. The art was well-done in this film, the acting was actually pretty decent for a dub, the fanservice was tasteful, and some characters were extremely intriguing. However, I do hope this show is revisited and we get the full story about Canaan.
Hiatus Schmiatus
I miss blogging. I hate not having time to aniblog as much as I would like. I am still watching shows, just not as many as usual.
- Gintama, my favorite show ever has picked back up after playing episode after episode of reruns. Did I tell you guys that I have two figurines of Gintoki on my office desk? No? Well, I do. They are courtesy of the fiance. The only figurines he has ever purchased for me and they are Gintoki. I would almost venture to say the most recent episodes have been some of the best ones yet of Gintama. We actually saw Gintoki fighting ruthlessly and attempting to kill. He is usually like Vash the Stampede in that he tries to not kill his enemies but this was not the case lately and I loved it. I loved watching him fight with his wooden sword and battle for love. Put a new meaning on “love is a battlefield”.
- Psycho-Pass, a new favorite for the season. Yes, yes, Shinya Kougami is a lovely addition to the show. Do I possibly have a crush on him? Oh, no, can’t have a crush on a fictional character! It’s unheard of! But nothing better than a dark, brooding character who is out for revenge and has risked everything to satisfy his need. The show does bring up the question about using “systems” to judge what is good or bad, even before someone does a criminal deed. The frightening aspect of this show is the possibility of a system such as the Sybil System being created. A system such as Sybil would cause humans to lose any sort of autonomy and create an even more apparent caste system than we already live in. I’ve gotten several people watching this show now because of my enthusiasm for it. I love sci-fi and I have been itching for a show that I look forward to each week. Welcome to my favorites list, Psycho-Pass.
- Tamako Market – This show is super cute and sweet. It seems like slice of life outside of the talking, overweight bird that’s been eating too much mochi. The irony is that is name is Mochiyucky. The bird appears to actually be attracted to almost every female he comes across and he also has some uncanny technological powers. Tamako is an extremely friendly girl and looks like she works hard to have a good family and friend life. She cares about everyone in her life and seems to be your average teenage girl. One thing I’m wondering is where is her mother? Did her mother die and they already dropped that tidbit?
- Uchuu Kyodai – This show is tearing at my heart strings something serious. I found myself crying out at the end of each episode. HIBITO!!! Noooooo! Then thinking, poor Mutta-chan. We have gotten to see more of Hibito as Uchuu Kyodai has manage to successfully drag out eight minutes over 3 episodes. I kid you not. 30 seconds in Uchuu Kyodai is a 30 minute show. I don’t know how they do it. This is a very slow show so if one is looking for action constantly, it probably won’t do it for you. But if you want something on the mature side, its excellent and has managed to get over 40 episodes. I can’t believe I’m still watching this show but there are so many aspects that it hasn’t explored yet. Mutta hasn’t started training yet at JAXA! The love between these brothers is beautiful to watch and how well they know each other is simply amazing.
I told myself that though my life has gotten extremely busy, I would still find time to watch anime. And I have. I may can only watch it one, maybe two days a week but it is definitely needed in my life. It makes me happy and its nice to know that it does the same for so many others. How are you all doing? What are you watching?
2012 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 43,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 10 Film Festivals
