Iwa ni Hana

'One-metre Aesthetics' and Japanese anime

Remember Morimoto Tetsurou 森本哲郎, whose exposition of the Japanese concept of mushi 虫 / 蟲 deepens our understanding of the word in the anime Mushishi 蟲師? Recently, I just finished another book by him in which he discusses something which he calls 'one-metre aesthetics'.

On reading it, I could help but be reminded of the posters of Kon Satoshi's Paprika (left) and Nakamura Kenji's Mononoke (right). Look at the intricate details and the manipulation of space. One could spend hours looking at them and never tire of it. It is as though the posters try to pack a much larger spatial dimension into a much narrower space.

I need more time to sleep on this. I am trying to relate 'one-metre aesthetics' to Japanese art-house anime in general and yet I cannot quite articulate the connection I want to make just yet. Perhaps I was just looking for an excuse to post these two pretty posters on Iwa ni Hana after all. (But of course, I am always open to suggestions.)

After the vindication of otaku in 'Densha Otoko (電車男)', watch out for the next wave of vindication for fujoshi (BL fangirls)

Otaku are a formidable group of consumers, and as such, however they were much despised according to mainstream values, they are bound to come under a flattering light sooner or later. Of course I now predict the same fate for fujoshi (腐女子).

And now it is confirmed in the news: A novel called Fujoshi Kanojo 腐女子彼女 ('My BL-fangirl girlfriend') has become a hit in Japan.

I understand that the novel was originally a blog, and the gist of the plot is that a college student is in love with a pretty girl two years his senior, who just happens to be a BL fangirl. Apparently it's a hilarious work too.

Well, what else can I say - now that the book is out, wait for the video?

'The Diary of Tortov Roddle (或る旅人の日記)'

Gallery of screen captures

Watching this 16-minute animation reminded me of two things:

• The art of Raymond Peynet. I used to buy a lot of my Raymond Peynet stationery at the Japanese 100 yen store Daiso (they are mass-produced from his more expensive lithographic works).

• A children's storybook about an uncles's travels I once saw at a Japanese bookstore. Unfortunately I just can't remember the storybook's title, but the art style looks strikingly similar.

I tried to resist dissecting too much into the symbolism and simply enjoyed this short animated film for what it is. As readers of this blog know, usually things like a fish jumping out of a cup of coffee to devour a butterfly flying by are a fair game to me. But there are times when a story just defied analysis and should simply be enjoyed as a magical experience.

The only thing I will say is that the last story arc where the protagonist Tortov Roddle falls in love with the flower lady is simply quintessential. The passage of time is signalled by the blossoming and withering of flowers, and when the love is no more, he puts away the (now dried-up) flower she gave him into his diary, which the title explicitly refers to and which we see only for the first time after 16 minutes. I think this is the thing he has been searching for to fill his diary with. The irony is that by the time the experience of love (fresh flower) is crystalized into a more or less durable form (dried flower) for the record, the romance is no more.

Another thing I will say is that the translation of the Japanese title 或る旅人の日記 or 'The Diary of a Certain Traveler' as The Diary of Tortov Roddle in English seems to reinforce the different aesthetics of the East and West. The West traditionally favours long and specific names for paintings. Here is a random example: Schwur des Heeres auf den Kaiser nach der Verteilung der Adler auf dem Marsfeld in Paris am 5. Dezember 1801 - you know the 'who', 'what', 'when', 'where' and perhaps the 'why' just by reading the title of the painting. The East traditionally favours short and vague titles for paintings that do not give away the 5W's. The Japanese title  The Diary of a Certain Traveler makes it clear that the name of the protagonist is not as important as what he does with his life, whereas the English title The Diary of Tortov Roddle seems to suggest that what he does with his life is not as important as who he is by name. A very interesting point indeed.

'Fantasy Railroad in the Stars (銀河鉄道の夜)' by Kagaya Studio

Gallary of screen captures

In spite of the fact that the original short story by Miyazawa Kenji 宮沢賢治 has human characters, you will not encounter a human face in this anime adaptation by Kagaya Studio, which attempts to tell the story with a 45-minute sequence of still-lifes.

Having said that, every frame in this anime is of poster quality, so it should not be a great problem for the audience to sustain interest in spite of the lack of drama involving human interactions. (But to be honest, since I have an extremely short attention span, I could not help but wish at times that I could get it over with by fast-forwarding... Still, one has to give them points just for trying...)

'Ouran High School Host Club (桜蘭高校ホスト部)': Graphical aberration and meta-manga/anime

Among the elements that make Ouran High School Host Club 桜蘭高校ホスト部 a first-rate high comedy, one thing that impressed me in particular was its bold and creative use of graphical aberration to depict the emotional state of the characters. Of course such a narration strategy is nothing new in manga, but I have yet to see an anime series that uses such spatial distortions to highlight the comic effects to such an extent.

Take the usually good-looking Suou Tamaki (see top left) for example. He is perhaps the character that is subject to the most graphical aberrations because he is so honest with himself and his friends that his emotions are, so to speak, all written on his face. Below are just a handful of examples -

In his cutie mode:

In his Edvard Munch's The Scream mode:

In his manga-ish 'shell-shocked' mode:

In his hardcore-shounen-manga mode:

Another thing that impressed me most is it clever subtextual references to shoujo manga/anime culture at large. Just as meta-fiction is a fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, Ouran is a shoujo manga/anime that self-consciously addresses the devices of shoujo conventions. At one point Tamaki even expresses awareness that he is a character in a manga/anime: 'After all this is a high school love comedy, and Haruhi and I are the main characters.' When asked by his friends in the host club that does it make them, Tamaki replies, 'Of course you guys are the BL minor characters. And don't you guys dare to cross this line.'

In that sense Ouran is a 'meta-manga/anime'. I have enjoyed it immensely - stylish directing, humour, tightly-written plot, impeccable timing. I wish there were more comic shows of this caliber. 

[Housekeeping] New blogs dedicated to 'Toward the Terra' and 'Seirei no Moribito'

After much internal struggle, I have set up new blogs dedicated to  Toward the Terra 地球へand Seirei no Moribito 精霊の守り人. It was a tough call to choose among the shows in the April line-up, but there it is.

Gallery of screen captures for Watanabe Shinichirou's 'A Detective Story' (and some speculations of the anime industry at large)

I still can't get over the guilt of having missed the interview with Watanabe Shinichirou in the February issue of Newtype. I am very interested in what the man has in store after Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. By way doing penance, I made some screen captures of his 10-minute animated film in Animatrix called A Detective Story.

As you can see, every frame in A Detective Story is of poster quality. Obviously it seems too much to hope that his new anime series to be shown after 2008 will sustain that sort of intensity - after all, the show runs on for at least 13 or 26 episodes, but then on second thoughts - why not? Gankutsuou for one has done it already. On the whole, I think the anime industry is diversifying towards two extremes between:

• Shows that do not rely on the sale of DVDs

The harem, otome and BL shows fall into this category. The anime is mostly a promotion strategy  for fans to buy the video games, figure models, guidebooks, tickets to fan festivals and so forth. Production values are... usually as low as they could get away with, certainly nothing for even avid fans to fork over something in the region of 6000 yen or US$50 for a 40-minute DVD. The market for this seems... saturated to me - Japan's young population being shrinking as it is (I just read somewhere that the revenue of the manga industry has hit a new low - not sure how reliable is that info though). Sometimes I wonder whether harem, otome and BL obsessions can last for more than one generation and whether the torch can be passed to the next generation of anime viewers.

• Shows that do rely on the sale of DVDs

The artsy shows - the ones that reveal more on each viewing - fall into this category. But these are few and far in between. Eventually the market for this will expand as the young population in Japan continues to shrink. And these shows tend to be highly exportable. I think this is a reality that many producers have known for some time already, only journalism in Japan being bland as it is, you do not ever get to see them voicing the obvious in interviews.

On a tangential note, one argument I have heard so far as to why music should be free is this:

The worst part about this, though, is that if the recording industry ever stopped to look at what's actually happening in China, they might see all of the opportunities presented there. After all, China is famous for its rather lax views on intellectual property -- which, if you believed the recording industry and its supporters, should have killed off the local music industry. However, the reality is quite different. Musicians in China have learned to adapt to the marketplace, embracing the free promotional aspects of their music to help them sell other things. Knowing that the music itself will be available for free, many musicians encourage that, recognizing that it helps them sell many more concert tickets, and also has opened up new money making opportunities, such as sponsorship deals. Of course, the record labels generally doesn't get money from concerts and such -- but that was a (bad) business mistake they made in their contracts, rather than a larger issue that requires government protection.

I think this is the economic reality of shows that do not rely on DVD sales.

Anime to watch out for in the April line-up: 'Seirei no Moribito,' 'Toward the Terra,' 'Darker than Black - Kuro no Keiyakusha,' 'Romeo x Juliet,' 'Heroic Age,' 'Devil May Cry' and 'Coil a Circle of Children'

Seirei no Moribito / 精霊の守り人
Official Website: ttp://www.moribito.com/

I have fairly high hopes for this anime series, which seems to be aimed at a more mature audience. It is the latest work of Kamiyama Kenji 神山健治, the director of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Production I.G., which I began to notice after Le Chevalier D'Eon シュヴァリエ, is the responsible studio. The gist of the plot is that a 30-year-old female bodyguard is charged with the task of protecting the second prince of a kingdom, who happens to be the bearer of the water fay's egg which appears once every one thousand years. There is something about court intrigues and the story is based on an award-winning work of fiction. And being the fangirl that I am, special attention will be paid to that silver-haired bishounen who is said to be bloody clever. If I have to choose one series to blog about after Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto 幕末機関説 いろはにほへとfinishes, this is the most likely candidate. You can find more useful information about this show here (and thanks for translating all that info, W-dono).

 

Toward the Terra / 地球へ…
Official Website: ttp://terra-e.com/

I have not read the original manga by Takemiya Keiko 竹宮惠子 which is said to be a classic, but then I would probably enjoy the anime series more without spoilers and comparisons with the manga in the back of my mind. My translation of the plot summary from the official website:

The stage is set in the distant future. Humankind has moved to a colony planet in order to revive planet Earth, which is in the process of being destroyed because of environmental pollution. There humankind lives by the orderly management of computers. Meanwhile, there are outcasts called Myou who possess special powers. They escape from the tyrannic eye of the government and as they lay low, they ponder on the meaning of their existence and dream of returning to the Earth. The leader of Myou, Soldier Blue, chooses a young man named Jomy who lives in Atarakeshia to be his successor, and counts on Jomy to make his dream come true. To return to their homeland, the Earth - because of this burning wish, they begin their battle to return to their home planet. 

舞台は、今よりも遥か遠い未来。人類は環境破壊により滅び行く地球を再生させるため、植民惑星へ移住した。コンピュータ管理により整然と生きる人類。その一方で疎まれる、特殊な能力を持つ「ミュウ」という存在。彼らは過酷な弾圧の中で政府の目から逃がれ、息を潜めながらも自分たちの存在意義を考え、そして地球への帰還を夢みていた―。ミュウのリーダー、ソルジャー・ブルーは、アタラクシアに住む少年ジョミーを自分の後継者として選び、夢を託す。故郷・地球へ還る―――その強い想いから、彼らの地球を目指す戦いが始まる。 

Darker than Black - Kuro no Keiyakusha / Darker than BLACK -黒の契約者
Official Website: ttp://www.d-black.net/

Many big names that appeared in Wolf's Rain also appear in Darker than Black. For one thing, Kanno Youko 菅野よう子 is in charge of the music, and the background music that appears in the trailer certainly reminds one of Cowboy Bebop. The plot summary seems to indicate an interesting story packed with symbolism. Below is my translation:

Because of the appearance of 'Hell's Gate', an unknown and supernatural territory, Tokyo has lost its real 'emptiness'*. Also appearing as though they are related are people who are endowed with special powers. The price for their special powers is that they gradually lose their human feelings. They are called 'Keiyakusha', who kill human beings with great calm and are therefore feared by all. Tokyo seems unchanged on the surface. However, because the the mystery of 'Hell's Gate', the spy agencies of many countries are using 'Keiyakusha' and the intelligence warfare is escalating to new heights. The protagonist, Hei, is disguised in Tokyo as Chinese student named Li Shun Sheng. Actually, he is someone endowed with special powers who is involved in the secret battles. He is a fearsome first-class agent who has come to be known as 'The Dark God of Death' on account of his appearance when he executes his inhuman missions. He delivers intelligence to spy agencies, and fights with other Keiyakusha whose powers are beyond his prediction. He meets many a woman with a tragic past, and leaves them behind.** He becomes involved with Section 4 of the police which is charged with investigating incidents caused by 'Keiyakusha'. In the mean time, battles surrounding 'Hell's Gate' intensify.

解析不可能な異常領域「地獄門（ヘルズ・ゲート）」の出現により、本当の“ 空” を失った東京。それと呼応するように現れたのは、特別な能力を身につけた者たちだった。
能力を得る代償として、人間らしい感情が希薄になり、人を殺めることさえ冷徹に行う彼らを、人々は畏怖を込め、「契約者」と呼んだ。

一見いつもと変わらない東京の風景。しかしその裏では、ゲートに秘められた謎をめぐり、各国の諜報機関は「契約者」を利用して熾烈な諜報戦を繰り広げている。

主人公・黒(ヘイ)は、中国人留学生李舜生(リ・シェンシュン)として東京の街にひっそりと溶け込んでいるが、 裏の顔は、暗部の闘いに身を投じる能力者の一人で、その苛烈な任務遂行の姿から、BK201「黒の死神」と呼ばれ畏怖されている、組織の一級エージェントである。

各国諜報機関が送る、予測不可能な能力を持った敵の契約者たちとの闘い。悲しき過去を持つ女達との出会い、そして別れ。 「契約者」による事件を追う公安部外事四課なども絡みあい、「ゲート」を巡る争いは激しさを増してゆく。 

* I am not sure what 空 may refer to. It could mean 'sky' or 'emptiness' or 'space'. It seems to be a special terminology that we will find out in due course in the show itself.

** There doesn't seem to be hints of romantic involvement in the Japanese original per se, but somehow the way we say the same things in English seem to misleadingly suggest so.

Romeo x Juliet / ロミオ×ジュリエット
Official Website: ttp://www.romejuli.jp/

A production of Gonzo based on Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, but it seems that they have modified the plot substantially to comply with certain conventions in anime. Special attention will be paid to a character by the name of Francisco, a skilled archer, learned scholar and general fanservice character. In the anime, Romeo's family has destroyed Juliet's family many years ago and has since then set up a tyranny, which a certain mysterious crusader of justice by the name of 'Red Whirlwind' (赤い旋風) seeks to subvert...

There are many ways this series could go wrong, and Gonzo is known for producing amazing first episodes and let everything slide downhill afterwards. Even if Romeo x Juliet is the spirital successor of Gonzo's masterpiece Gankutsuou 岩窟王, it would seem best not to set the bar too high lest the disappointment should be too great.

Heroic Age / ヒロイック・エイジ
Official Website: ttp://www.starchild.co.jp/special/heroicage/

This is usually not my cup of tea from what I made of the plot summary. But Ubukata Tou 冲方丁 (of Le Chevalier D'Eon シュヴァリエ fame) is the creator of the story. Below is my translation of the plot summary from the official website:

At the call of the 'Golden Race,' many races ventured into space. The human race, which was the last race to venture into space, is called the 'Iron Race'. After many ages the human race, threatened by the stronger 'Silver Race,' is facing extinction. The princess Dianeira, determined to save the human race, sets out to travel to distant space on account of a prophecy from the 'Golden Race' which has been passed down for many generations within the royal family. She meets a young man. The name of the young man is Eiji*. The encounter between the princess and the young man is about to bring about a tremendous change to the universe...

「黄金の種族」の呼びかけに各種族は応え、宇宙への進出を果たした。最後に進出を果たした人類は「鉄の種族」と呼ばれた。その後、遥かな時が流れた時代、人類はより強大な種族である「銀の種族」らの脅威にさらされ、存亡の危機を迎えた。王女ディアネイラは人類存続をかけ、王家に代々伝わる「黄金の種族」からの予言をもとに、遥かなる銀河へ旅立つ。そして、一人の少年と出会った。少年の名はエイジ。王女と少年の出会いが宇宙に大きな運命の変転をもたらしてゆく・・・

* It seems there is a pun in Eiji ('Age'). The title can be read as 'Heroic Age' or 'Heroic Eiji'.

Devil May Cry / デビル　メイ　クライ
Official Website: ttp://dmc-tv.com/

Nothing much is out on this anime series yet, but going by Wikipedia Japan, the original novels and Playstation 2 games seem to have the usual stuff about magic, revenge, demons and so forth. Apparently, 'Devil May Cry' is the name of a convenience store. Judging by the artwork, I am hoping that this isn't a 'me too' anime along the lines of Trinity Blood and Hellsing.  But let's give them the benefit of doubt.

Coil a Circle of Children / 電脳コイル
Official Website: ttp://www.tokuma.jp/coil/

Let's just say that I received a very, very long email about this series from someone whose taste and knowledge in anime production staff I highly respect (you know who you are). The email sets out all the reasons why this anime may be a pleasant surprise, mostly on account of the creative staff involved (Iso Mitsuo 磯光雄 for one). That's how Coil a Circle of Children has made it to my watch-out list.   

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Finally, a note on new anime series to listen for (not watch out for, mind you). By all means, production value is probably so-so for the following shows, but the cast of stellar voice actors should make these shows a pleasure to listen to while one multitasks in other things:

Koutetsu Sangokushi / 鋼鉄三国志
Official Website: ttp://www.koutetsu-sangokushi.jp/file/jsp/index.html

In spite of being based on the Chinese literary masterpiece of war, I have a feeling that this show probably caters to BL fangirls. But the voice actors involved! Koyasu Takehito 子安武人, Ishida Akira 石田彰, Miki Shinichirou 三木眞一郎 and Inoue Kazuhito 井上和彦 - to name but a few.

Saint Beast ~ Kouin Jojishi Tenshi Dan / セイント・ビースト～光陰叙事詩天使譚～
Official Website: ttp://www.saintbeast.com/

The show is most likely crap, but my dear Sakurai Takahiro 櫻井孝弘 is to play a bookish blue-haired bishounen. 

Wellber no Monogatari ~ Sisters of Wellber /ウェルベールの物語～Sisters of Wellber
Official website: ttp://www.avexmovie.jp/lineup/wellber/

This show may or may not turn out to be rubbish, but Namikawa Daisuke 浪川大輔 is to play a blond bishounen bodyguard. So there you go.

Overdrive

Okiayu Ryuutarou 置鮎龍太郎, my favorite seiyuu, is to appear there.

'Gin Iro no Kami no Agito 銀色の髪のアギト' directed by Sugiyama Keiichi 杉山慶一

Gallery of screen captures

Let me begin by saying that Gonzo is capable of getting it right. Gonzo may have a reputation in producing a spectaclar first episode and then letting the rest of a 26-episode series rot in hell, but this full-length animated film Gin Iro no Kami no Agito 銀色の髪のアギト is a film that would have made Miyazaki Hayao 宮崎駿 proud.

The visuals are stunning, and I am sure tree-huggers would get a kick watching it. My personal complaint is that the first ten minutes contain one too many brushes with death to make the action seem plausible. It is very much an action-oriented film that would benefit by having more dialogues and character development.