Yakusoku is dominantly rock styled with choral splashed in. In the middle break the same harmonic progression found in Honou no Tobira is present. Kind of cute. The chorus has a nice hook, but it doesn't make the song. Overall, Yakusoku is average for a FictionJunction YUUKA track, and I have to wonder if this and others suffer from the deliberate distortion at the mixing stage, eliminating any contrast by making everything loud.
The title track (yes, I'm too lazy to write about the tracks in the order that they appear) is also average. Latin influenced, accompaniment is moderate in terms of the number of instruments used, but it doesn't sound that way because of the texture provided by the guitar and percussion. Yuuka demonstrates good control (but this is a studio recording, after all) in dissonant and disjunct figures, but I don't find any hook in the melody to latch on to.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
FictionJunction YUUKA - Romanesque single
Monday, June 18, 2007
MariMite's Dream
I'm watching the third season of Maria-sama ga Miteru, consisting of 5 OVA-length episodes, without having watched the first two seasons. I thought I ought to reduce any semblance of credibility before anyone takes me seriously.
As of this entry, I've finished the first three episodes. After a long gap, I watched the latter two consecutively. It may have had something to do with an inkling I had, but it was KOTOKO's second ED for the series, Kirei na Senritsu, that sealed it. A higher quality Stage6 version of the sequence may be found by Googling the the song title.
All episodes are self-contained with persistent characters, but with no continuity in the story, releasing the viewer from the duty of having to rewatch previous episodes in order to regain context. As I understand it, each episode corresponds to one novel, which is convenient.
This OVA offers something for the classicist and the control freak. Not much separates either of the two, and I have been known to exhibit signs of both extremes depending on the situation and how much sleep I've gotten in the past week. I thought that perhaps there was some element of romanticism as well, but the setting and the characters don't have romanticism so much as they romanticize the school and school themes, specifically private school.
I'm more jaded now, but as a kid, this is what I'd have liked at least my high school years to have been. In this self-contained environment, there are rules and procedures. Even outside the school, that same formality dominates the thinking and actions of the characters. The world, not just the school, is thus neat and ordered, and all actions are initiated by a plan. Watching the second and third episodes back to back, I was acutely aware of the feeling that I was watching the unfolding of process, and even though most stories are about progression in a general sense, a story based around meetings and the organization of events drives home a point otherwise taken for granted.
In the back of my mind I'm thinking, this is a classicist's dream, going beyond, say, the proper
organization of events and human interaction. That's just how business proceeds on a good day. More than professionalism, there is also a sense of reservation. Discretion does play a role in being formal, but one does not need to be subtle in order to have discipline and good time management skills.
Dialog is not gratuitous; few characters speak for the sake of speaking. Just as muted is the art, eschewing bold colours. Some scenes feel like memories: visible but too ethereal to be tangible.
Against the Real World, this setting comes up short like all self-contained environments have a tendency to do. The activities the characters organize and take part in, the kinds of social circles they partake in, the necessary mannerisms, all have little correlation to what I've seen. Everything that I identify with aligns with the ideals in my head. To me then, MariMite is a beautiful dream, an acceptable substitute for those nights where there won't be any sleep.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
(Pointless) Speculation!
(Originally 13 April 2007)
After reading the first chapter, I speculate that there is no war
with the humans, and that Orochi is just out to destroy the world, as per usual, using falsified history as a pretext.
(Later)
Having finished the eighth chapter today, coincidentally, I've abandoned that theory and am just along for the ride. I do smell a reincarnation theory going, though. Two things don't sit well with me, though. If you're not reading this fan-novella, the following won't be relevant.
First, the author's style is verbose, maybe more verbose than in his previous KnM work. This kind of repetition and excessive description was necessary in epic poems such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, because they were passed down by rote, and repetition makes memorization easier.
My second gripe is related to the first, in that this style is necessary because it's written from Chikane's point of view, and since she is supposedly all star-struck, must resort to using lots of words to describe her lovely Himeko. I always viewed Chikane as someone who used words when she had to communicate, and even then, was pretty efficient in getting her message across. So right away, I and the author are looking at things from conflicting perspectives.
Come the eighth chapter, though, there is some justification for Chikane's behaviour in that she's never had a friend and doesn't know how to deal with friendship, let alone love, and thus she resorts to describing what she sees and feels in immaculate detail. This is a setting issue, and my issue with it is a matter of ideals.
Even though the story is arguably set in a separate universe from KnM, I am disappointed by what I perceive as an essential re-inventing of the wheel. Chikane's character, Himeko's character; they are no different than from when KnM proper started. Their promise at the end of that series — to defy fate, defy society — has been eviscerated in favour of re-telling their love story.
My feelings on the matter speak more about me than anything related to the story. I'm just tired of seeing the two characters go around in circles. For me, the bittersweet sentiments that well up after completing an immersive and powerful story, in any medium, are driven by a desire to know what happens after. Consequently, Jen-chan's post-reset stories are interesting in that they continue the development trends present in the series.
Archiving complete
All old posts have been mirrored and touched up. I also added some shorter posts on more current events.
Continue Entry......Saturday, June 9, 2007
Recently completed series
(Originally 3 April 2007)
I can't really think of anything in depth to say about the following, or it's been discussed already and I've missed the boat.
Kanon 2006 was extremely well executed. Animation quality, dialogue, scene framing, all thoroughly considered throughout the entire series. OST wasn't very memorable, but it didn't seem needed except for a few key moments where the music was appropriately poignant. Yuuichi for the most part was quite ordinary, not some arrogant prick, nor a loser doormat. No one was over the top really, just ordinary personalities in extraordinary situations and, occasionally, with extraordinary powers.
The story wasn't very cohesive, highlighting the difficulties that arise when trying to port a medium where multiple paths are the norm to a single-pathed one. Characters just arbitrarily show up or get sidelined, not just in terms of screen time, but also in their effect on the story, making cameos in both kinds of contexts. It didn't bother me too much, because the execution was doing a fine job compensating, but the disjointedness was apparent nonetheless. For that, Kanon 2006 didn't leave any sense of fulfillment or nostalgia because by the end, most of my trust was placed in the execution as opposed to the story.
When you see a fireworks display, you say it's perfectly timed, the light display was pretty, but if there's no orchestral score to move you, it is merely a great display of execution, nothing more.
Likewise, Asatte no Houkou is also a fine display of execution up till the last third or so. Great atmosphere, not much needed to be said and so not much was said. I wonder if it's inevitable that, for me at least, if there isn't a compelling driver in the storyline, I begin to watch almost exclusively for execution. I'm still debating whether to keep this one, as I began to lose interest around the point that Karada ran away to the city and got herself into some truly cringe-inducing moments. The angst was also cringe-worthy, not moment-worthy.
Welcome to the adult world, Karada. She got pwnt, I suppose it only makes sense to let her cry over it. I'm kind of torn. On one hand I think kids shouldn't have that red button that they can press to get away with being dumb (and their parents shouldn't have one to justify treating them like dumb kids), but on the other hand this series just shows that kids will cry when treated like adults. I'm not liking that precedent, but now I have to consider how applicable that precedent is to kids in general.
I have no strong opinions with respect to Soukou no Strain. Its story developed with a one themed mind. Sara Werec was not Ayako Kawasumi's greatest role, given she didn't say much at all throughout the whole thing. The body count of characters had initial shock value, but it quickly wore off when their deaths had no real significance, except to traumatize Sara more, but even that wasn't conveyed in any strong way, with the exception being the Gambee pilots taking their revenge of sorts on Sara around episode 5 (don't remember, don't have references, can't be bothered to find them). Oh shoot, another character with an actual name got sliced and diced. Meh.
Obligatory note of Lavinia's episode 7 debacle. Pure filler episode, and more fan service than comedic value.
The launch music, a kind of march form, was the stand-out piece for the OST. Bearing the long-winded title, The Decisive Battle of Fate
, it matches the tense pre-combat atmosphere. The OP and ED drew zero interest; the vocal timbres were too thin for my liking.
Bartender
(Originally 3 April 2007)
Bartender delivered bite-sized modern day fables with various analogies to bridge cocktails and their history to everyday problems. Ultimately feel good in nature. I didn't mind it, and there were some individual episodes that are keepers. The female vocalist in the OP and ED (I believe they are both from the same artist/group) is terrible. She doesn't have the chops for swing or jazz ballads, or maybe most other music for that matter. Her voice was dry and flat, maybe in a pitching sense, too. How can anyone get away with singing out of tune when the song's not being performed live?
The second last episode featured the stereotypical nerd in the form of a fluid mechanics professor (he even broke out the Navier-Stokes equation), but his behaviour made for great contrast with respect to the constantly serious atmosphere throughout the series. This was the only episode to feature intentional comedy (you can likely find humour in anything if you look hard enough).
The last episode was philosophical bordering on the abstract. It seems that a bartender in Eden Hall is only a temporary position, which is puzzling seeing as how the place is not the kind of venue to practice in. There's not really that much to dwell on that is specific to the finale.
A significant draw to the series are the small moments of epiphanies received when stories and drinks come together. They do so in a very poetic sense, and a decent amount of screen time is devoted to romanticising tragedy, triumph, adversity, or even the job of a bartender. It's accessible enough that you don't have to think too hard to get the point.
Relatedly, the atmosphere is very relaxed. An episode has a mostly clean slate, with two consistently recurring characters, and some brief appearances by others. Episodes naturally take place during the night, the bar itself has low lighting, and scenes focus almost exclusively on two people at a time, with no extraneous action. There's not a lot of detail
, but that's not a negative given the setting and context.
Lastly, I liked the artsy-ness exemplified in the first episode, with a single conversation thread or telling of a story carried by different characters in different locations in a serial fashion, and the transition of scenes through traditional cinematic or theatrical techniques (dark suddenly illuminated by a single spotlight on a character, merging of labels to scenes in history). I never thought it to be pretentious, though; the atmosphere was always too low key and comfy.
Bartender won't draw much attention, being a downbeat kind of series, but were it to try to be anything more it would ruin the good atmosphere it had going. I think it accomplished being the series you could stretch out and watch to unwind, a testament to its consistency of execution. It set out to do one thing and do it well, and I appreciate that.
Perceived pettiness
I have seen all of one episode of Negima?! whereas I've seen Nanoha, Nanoha A's, and am currently watching StrikerS, and so while I have no other reason to vote otherwise, my feelings are muddied by the perceived slight earlier.
Still, better to fight over some insignificant online poll than to fight over some insignificant patch of land, right? So people shall, and they'll hopefully walk away with no physical injuries. If this is what generally passes for conflict these days, I think humans have made some modicum of progress.
