Oh dear, Kyoshiro to Tora no Sora licensed by ADV

No good can come of this. Really. Is there some mecha show annual license quota that has to be filled? I hope they're not banking on support from KnM purchasers.

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KnM has moved to a new label!

See the Kannazuki no Miko label.

I should have thought of this earlier. This could have been a redirect and a smooth transition.

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Chikane Himemiya - character notes

Episode 8 Chikane laying down the LAW. She's actually saying How rude! Kneel! to Souma's mech, while Souma is currently doing the kneeling.

Chikane is a polarizing character, sparking her own share of disputes even among fans of Kannazuki no Miko. Still, chances are that if you don't feel strongly about Chikane, then you can't get into the rest of the series. Love her or not, her presence defined each episode, as well as all related KOTOKO songs. What follows is essentially my shrine to one Himemiya Chikane, the tragic figure who deserved, if not a happy ending, then at least more than 12 episodes of fighting robots.

Spoilers will follow, obviously.

* * *

Before I start out at all, I make reference to a TV Trope below, one that deals with the actions of episode eight, and the trope offers two ways of viewing rape. At this point in time, I continue to sit on the fence. I don't support what happened, it's not okay, and yet I have to accept it because the scene is there, sitting on my DVD. You just don't look cover your eyes when there's an 800 pound gorilla or elephant (take your pick) in the room, beside you, taking up your oxygen and possibly stealing your tunes. So let's talk about it, and what does it say about Chikane. How you feel about the whole thing says more about you than anything else, including the series.

Chikane is in an awkward position. In a lot of stories involving mystical elements or just combat of any sort, the lead characters are gifted with relevant abilities right off the bat. In Kannazuki no Miko, the most immediate powers are in the hands of the evil doers and one good guy, at a ratio of 7 to 1. I'll overlook the fact that the good guy was supposed to be an evil doer.

It's made clear that Chikane and Himeko should be the most important characters in the second episode, but in the overall scheme of things, other characters — the evil doers — continue to carry the initiative until the eighth episode. In each encounter, Chikane and Himeko are no match for the Orochi, and have to be bailed out by Souma, in possession of powers that (more than) match those of the Orochi members.

While Himeko has no distinguishing abilities, Chikane does. Himeko is nothing but a normal high school student with the ability to summon a giant fighting robot, which passes as the currency of power in this series. She lacks any athleticism, which might aid her in fending off an attack (but not by a giant robot) and if nothing else, in running away.

Chikane, on the other hand, has demonstrated athleticism and a sense of marksmanship. It's just that these abilities are totally irrelevant against superhumans and robots alike, and episode after episode demonstrates that no one feels this more acutely than her.

As noted by Souma in episode eight, Chikane is competitive but not for the sake of winning. I should clarify that statement; there are some things that one can be good at with a bit of practice and discipline, but I think what the scenes during Souma's passage wanted to make clear was that in other activities, she would succeed at cost to her own well-being. There are battles that are chosen for her, all of which are in a school setting and only do require some practice and discipline, and then there are battles that she chooses to fight.

This dedication plays into a sense of chivalrous love for Himeko. Chikane pictures herself as what can only be the idealized image of a knight: protecting her loved one, not only physically but guaranteeing her happiness, even if that means Chikane would forever sit on the sidelines, at best a good friend. You could argue that she's not being totally honest with herself, given her various actions (the stolen kiss, the hairpin), but I will give her the benefit of the doubt.

See, Chikane always operates alone, away from others, in the dark, in situations of uncertainty. I think in her pre-episode seven mind, which was unaware of the consequences of defeating Orochi, Souma's and Himeko's relationship would be official and in the open, denying her of the unofficial (read: uncertain) environment. She could live with that; she is aware of her actions in public. As a side note, it's only in episode eight that she loses her sense of social propriety, or actively disregards it, and only in the archery scene.

Chikane isn't quite Batman, and I'm not about to get into a pissing contest as to who would beat who in a fight, but Chikane does approach something like a dark knight.

Against Chikane's sometimes desperate desire to be the protector crashes wave after wave of humiliating failure. What was probably once a spotless record of success is now marred by numerous defeats. She deals with the adversity with much grace, allowing Himeko to cry enough tears into Chikane's shoulder for the both of them. Inwardly, she grows that much more desperate until, well, the end of episode seven.

Chikane's penchant for acting independently, in the shadows, gets her into a lot of trouble, but her actions are commensurate with her motivation. By doing what she did in episode eight, she accomplishes a number of short-term goals:

• Clearly power flows from the joints of a giant fighting robot, and only incidentally through the barrels of some robots' guns and cannons should they have them. Chikane has no such robot, but obviously the next best solution is to take someone else's, and since of none of the evil doers appear unless it's to kill her or Himeko, Souma will have to do. She could track down Souma and defeat him with ease, as is demonstrated, but her actions have the indirect effect of drawing him to the mansion.


• Chikane works best in the shadows, and the Orochi power base is not sun-kissed.


• This is something she has to do alone. Chikane attempts to cut ties with the only person who can summon an answer to Orochi, although we know how that turns out. She also really cuts ties with the only guy who would and could protect them, and takes that power along with her, fused with whatever was gifted to her as Priestess of the Moon.

At some point in time, Chikane should also have turned Souma into stone. This could have the effect of obliterating any faith left in Himeko. Then, Chikane and Himeko could have had their confrontation without the initial robot fight. Why didn't she do it? Perhaps because Souma was not really the enemy, not in the rather short timeframe of the story and not in Chikane's mind, either. She didn't need to protect Himeko from Souma but those out to kill her. In a tragic twist, that group included Chikane, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

There's no defence like a good offence, so what better way to protect Himeko from her attackers than to kill them all? The outcome couldn't have been better, for then she would be the lone evil doer, her working environment of choice. On top of that, since Chikane was out to kill Himeko herself, she was going to have to die as well. The pieces of the puzzle come together in this neat and ordered fashion, completely aligned with Chikane's perception of herself, and the idealized role she was to play in Himeko's life.

KnM is unusual in that the lion's share of screen time goes to Chikane, when it can be argued that the character who changes the most is Himeko. Coincidentally, there was a recent thread on the Yuricon Yahoo group about why Strawberry Panic was being given such a bad rap, and one message compared both SP and KnM to MariMite. Chikane got compared to Sachiko, and obviously Sachiko is a better(?) character because she develops over time, especially, apparently, in the OVA. Sachiko gets three seasons to evolve, but I digress. I think the big picture view is, Chikane is a tragic character, and her flaw is a fierce independence that is only conveyed in her actions.

Tragic characters don't change, which is the point. Their flaws directly bring about their own demise, which they realize only when it's too late. In a variation on this premise, Chikane, quite aware of what it means to be alone, and to act alone, plots her own demise. This kind of self-awareness and discipline is generally regarded as a good thing, but really it is only strength of character, and strength can either help or harm. Chikane has done both, but what we see most viscerally is her ability to harm.

Because one can generally argue any point by heaping on sufficient support, I conclude with this one: Chikane personifies the moon. It isn't so much that she looks the part, which she does. In episode eight, chibi Chikane sits on that tree, reading, quietly observing the world alone. She is that solitary beacon in the darkness, and people do not hang around her to bask in her warmth, as the moon doesn't illuminate the land like the sun does. People look up to her like they look up at some towering figure. Himeko, despite treating Chikane as normally as she has ever been treated, continues to view her as the voice of reason up till the end. It is in that end that Himeko finally places herself on equal footing with Chikane, essentially climbing onto the pedestal that she continued to place Chikane on despite the latter falling back to earth, and then some.

Is Chikane a beautiful character? Of course. Her story is beautiful just like puzzles and tragedies can be beautiful. I hope I've gone some way to argue or re-affirm that for skeptics and fans alike.

If nothing else, there's beauty in the breakdown.

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(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.

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Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora - complete

(Originally 28 March 2007)

I'm going on Ayako subs on this one, which are…maybe not the greatest (an understatement), but they have first mover advantage. Maybe I'll reconsider my lack of opinion if I get Static-Subs or WinD subs, but that's only if I feel inclined to take another run at this series.

I don't despise KyoSora, not on any kind of scale approaching Saikano, but a root cause of detachment in both was on account of their lead(s). Saikano had a loser for a male lead and a crybaby for a female lead, and all the good characters were secondary cast and thus cannon fodder. KyoSora has a cry-bigot for a female lead, and some attempt at a callous persona for a male lead. Good characters were not developed to their full potential. If the characters aren't compelling it's hard to earn that trust necessary to suspend disbelief. Following that, the lack of backstory, poor dialogue (which also strongly contributes to character), and irrelevant events, not only become less forgivable, they become irritating.

The other gripe was there weren't any powerful moments. There were decent moments towards the end (i.e. the last episode), but they were the result of either knowing the story of Chikane and Himeko from KnM, or the fact that I find non-casual goodbyes (even really long drawn out ones) generally touching. Love confessions over the course of the series were trite. The Kaon x Himiko confession scene against the same kind of gold background in KnM had zero effect on me. The dialogue just wasn't there, and neither was there any build up. All it was was an event, which is to say, an unmemorable scene among a sea of other unmemorable scenes.

I retract my earlier statement about moments. There were also decent moments elsewhere, except they just happened to involve either Kaon and/or Himiko. Did those particular moments have any real impact on the story? Not really, since there wasn't much of a story to begin with.

I'm done with the criticisms. In the character department, Kaon/Chikane wins, again. I suppose that means Himiko wins by association, but I was embarrassed at having to bear witness to her having to play a magical cello. It brings back not-too-distant memories of La Corda d'Oro, which is totally eclipsed by Nodame Cantabile. Mika was relatively compelling compared to everyone else only because she had the most contrasting flashbacks, or maybe even just the most flashbacks. Having a quarter of a backstory, even if only hinted at in scenes, is better than having zero backstory summed up in two lines of dialogue.

The OP is acceptable, light and energetic, with a vocalist who isn't overly cute. I'm fond of the ED, with its forthright lyrics (as far as Ayako's translation goes) and arcing melody. It's a strong ballad, and very loopable. I didn't give much attention to the OST, but the violin piece used throughout the series wasn't nearly as strong as Chikane's theme from KnM, and that violin piece is the only memorable bit.

I considered saving the last episode for no reason other than to hear Kaon speak in Chikane's voice, but for now, off it goes. I can tolerate YouTube if I need a fix.

Edit: Out of morbid curiosity, I did dig up the last Kaon/Himiko scene on YouTube. At first I thought Kaon's dress in the portrait might have been Chikane's dress at the end of KnM. It was not to be, but would have been awesome.

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Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora - the first third

I might as well have titled this post, "Why I keep hurting myself."

(Originally 29 January 2007)

So I've seen the fourth episode of the twelve episode series, and I have to admit to myself at this point that I'm really only watching it for Chikane and Himeko. I mean to say, Kaon and Himiko. I do feel a bit shallow, but not too badly since it seems a lot of people are just watching it for those two as well.

I like the OP and ED, although I've yet to hear the full length version of the ED track. Both don't really match well to the show, since there aren't any weighty themes (or themes being given any weight/screentime) thus far, but they do hold up pretty well on their own.

I'm in a sentimental mood at the moment, so I'm eschewing the faster and upbeat OP for the moderate-tempo ballad that is the ED. And I'm all for declarations of love and longing in a strong chorus line.

But on to the series itself. Basically there's not much happening, which is not that good a sign. Yes, KnM only picked things up in a serious way starting around the halfway marker, and the same thing might happen. This does not mean that this lack of development is a good thing, though, and lessons should have been learned from KnM. If the animators (hell, or the manga team from which the series is based on) could have evened out the pace a bit more, it would have been a vast improvement. It's disappointing that thus far they've reserved all episodes for moments of randomness and heavy-handed explanations in the form of idiot lectures.

I see some people thoroughly enjoying the randomness as unintentional comedy and blatant fan service. I don't really notice the randomness until it's pointed out, but I do recognize when time is being wasted. Fan service, I don't really care for, particularly when it's Kuu, and yes this character grates on my soul.

There is not much of a plot to speak of, the most powerful moment thus far being Kaon getting "tempered" much like a blacksmith strikes a sword on top of an anvil. So here's a run down of some characters.

Kyoshiro — the series' namesake. As of episode four he's established himself as a tool, or an asshat, or both. Nothing out of the ordinary with his motivations since it's the typical avenge a loved one who may or may not be dead because of some giant explosion. He's an asshat, though, because he's initially set up to be the nice guy hero, and then that's arbitrarily turned on its head and now he might be some anti-hero, although at this point it's hard to tell if we should even root for him. I'm going to go out on a limb and say no, because you can't be an anti-hero and a hero at the same time.

Setsuna — Kyoshiro's tool. Literally does all the bitch work. Somewhat stiff and robotic. Causes Kuu much teenage angst. Seems at a slight disadvantage when fighting Tarurotte.

Tarurotte — Magical neko (cat). 'nuff said. Oh, and is Sojiro's tool, but you wouldn't know it by the way she beats him down in episode 3.

Sojiro — Kyoshiro's brother. Not a tool, yet. Also not a main character, yet.

Jin — Souma clone, talks less, therefore thumbs up from me. Although why he has teal hair (and blue-ish eyes) and doesn't talk more and do stuff is beyond me. The blue ones are always the trouble-makers.

Kozue — has like two lines, then gets hit by a car. Oops, wrong series, but the effect is about the same.

Himiko — Himeko clone, talks less, emos less, therefore thumbs up from me. If she develops a backbone later on in the series, two thumbs way up. It's only fair. I mean, Chikane has always carried the team, and a sense of confidence would be a nice continuation from the ending of KnM.

Kaon — Chikane clone, not focus of series, therefore thumbs down! I like her dark blue eyes (they're closer to her hair shade), in contrast to those who prefer the lighter marine ones in KnM. I don't have a preference, and upon closer inspection the differences aren't that great. Inconsistent character design/animation in KnM is mostly responsible for the differences. Currently waiting for her to snap again and kick everyone's ass, because c'mon, it's Chikane, and Chikane is no one's tool. Speaking of which...

Mika — apparently Kyoshiro's sister? This hasn't been borne out in the series yet, but I read it on Wikipedia/the internet, so it must be true. Time for a family feud, huh? It seems everyone has their own tool (until Chikane flips out and kills things with real ultimate power), and they're all related. In my view she's the most interesting character because she actually does stuff, and lets her actions speak as opposed to rambling on and on. Possessive, radiates the eeevill, a straight-up no-nonsense (or shades of grey) villain.

Kuu — save the worst for last! I read the claim that she's an awesome character, but wouldn't work at all in real life. I agree with the latter, but maybe since I like a bit of realism so I can buy in to a series, I fail to understand how she can be an awesome character. Maybe it's because I want to slap her around so badly that it rips me away from the suspension of disbelief (and there's a lot required). Even her character design is beginning to get on my nerves. It crossed my mind somewhere during episode four that her face is a very irritating cross between moe and emo. There might be some merit in accomplishing such a feat, such as best rage-inducing figure.

Some complain that Himeko was spineless, but Kuu puts Shinji Ikari to shame. I was hoping for a bit of trope subversion in a scene where Kuu stands over a possibly dying (but it's a shoujo series, no one ever dies! Or something) tool Kyoshiro, crying out his name over and over again. That sounded dirty, but it's not. I half-expected Kyoshiro to wake up and smack her upside the head, and scream, Get me a (censored) medic! Alas, it did not happen. How disappointing. Shell-shocked people might experience bouts of paralysis, but if there are any people who stand around calling out someone's name hoping they'll wake up, they ought to be smacked silly for being totally incompetent. Or being a Kuu.

When she's not being extremely emo (she needs a boxcutter. A box of them, ho ho ho), she's narrating to her imaginary friend (although signs point to this friend being dead) in the form of a letter. Writing imaginary letters on sites can be pretty funny, and even more amusing if they're sent and a reply comes back, but it requires a minimal amount of effort to write a good letter. Writing a letter detailing your emo thoughts and activities does not make for a good letter. It makes for a pretty terrible, fast forward moment, though. Like I said, it seems quite a few people are enjoying the unintentional hilarity in it all. I find it pretty pathetic, and I've seen enough pathetic people (i.e. Shinji) that it's as if they're filler. Time wasting not only has filler moments, but filler characters. The irony is that Kuu's name translates into empty or shell. There are situations where time-wasting is acceptable, usually if it goes unnoticed because the writers are marginally clever about it. Active time-wasting deserves some kind of penalty, like in sports.

Probably the worst that could happen is if Kuu fails to grow a freaking spine, and gets entrusted with a giant phase-shifting robot, since it's pretty much guaranteed she has that power. Anime would then bear witness to the creation of a female Shinji, no Shinji trascended, like a version negative 2.0, and then a trainwreck of epic proportions. Who wouldn't want to watch an emo girl with a giant robot getting beaten down by Chikane Kaon?

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KnM and related fluff images

(Originally 28 January 2007)

Why this artist has a domain suffix for India is beyond me. Click the image for the full resolution. The image is in reference to a scene in episode 2 of Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora, where Himeko's incarnation (named Himiko. Original eh?) kisses Chikane's incarnation (Kaon, a play the pronunciation of her kanji name) to restore her energy. And they're definitely lovers. Right. We'll see how that plays out. Right now it's the only reason I'm watching it. The main character's personality grates on my very soul.

Side note: Fervent Idiot owns.

There is some official art for the Kannazuki no Miko anime. I don't think I've ever seen this one, though, although it's very clearly anime inspired if nothing else. The manga character designs have way too much hair.

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KnM Fan Forum

(Originally 27 January 2007)

Anyway, I stumbled across a KnM fan forum while reading the Shoujo-Ai forums. The thorough flood filling of purple might have been an emotional statement of some sort, but it's pretty hard to read. There might be a way to change the template if I signed up, but I'm not going to. I may be a (rabid) Chikane fan, but I don't have anything to say that I haven't said previously. Wait, I actually haven't. I suppose I should remedy that as opposed to studying for an upcoming midterm.

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I'm not worthy

(Originally 13 January 2007)

orz

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2484/1168646289235sm4.jpg

Yanked from http://www.shoujoai.com/forum/topic_show.pl?tid=37213;pg=7

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KOTOKO - Re-sublimity Single

(Originally 23 December 2006)

I've been meaning to rave about how awesome the Kannazuki no Miko OP and ED tracks are. Time, and a host of other tracks, has probably blunted my enthusiasm, but these are keepers.

Lyrics!

Re-sublimity, the OP, is typical KOTOKO/I've Sound form, right down to the consistency and placement of instrumental-only passages. The only thing that differentiates this track from basically every other I've Sound/KOTOKO produced track is plenty of open-ended driving power in the melody and accompaniment. Short motifs carried by either KOTOKO or the synth are contrasted with long string lines overhead. The synth's motif in the instrumental-only sections alternate (relatively) slower detached notes with rapid staccato. A pervasive ticking snare keeps pace like, well, clock work.

Despite the lyrics, Re-sublimity is generally upbeat and passionate.

Agony, the ED, uses a darker atmosphere to create and build tension. In the verse, KOTOKO runs along with a short rhythmic figure with lead-in, then switches to a longer line as she transitions into the bridge, which continues into chorus. In the chorus she uses a sweeping line, but switches into the same short rhythmic motif once more to build to the end. In the middle section there's a breather, but it's short. At the end, the track breaks out into a bright, syncopated synth piano, in a major key. A quieter, but equally bright, acoustic piano comes in after the accompaniment fades out.

The lyrics describe a much darker passion, delving into despair and desperation.

Suppuration -core- is an image song that appears in two places, I think. My DVD's are currently on loan, can't be bothered to YouTube episodes to confirm. But I'd like to think one of scenes is where Chikane is kicking ass and taking names. Suppuration -core- is angry and violent, as evidenced by the intro with its jarring guitar, pounding bass drum. It's still danceable, like most other KOTOKO tracks, but it inspires stiff, jerky movement. KOTOKO's voice is distorted when she's using recitative, and the distortion is switched off when she goes to constrasting, longer and higher range lines. Violence motivated by desperation is what I feel emanating from the alternating distortion and soaring vocals.

It seems that all three tracks are written from Chikane's point of view, specifically her thoughts (confessions?) regarding Himeko. They track (har har) her descent into darkness from the beginning to up to the last episode of the series. She initially plays her cards close to her chest, but the viewer gets to see more into her as the series progresses, and her complete collapse in episode eight.

On their own, the tracks in the Re-sublimity single are solid and represent stand-out execution in an otherwise formulaic production by I've Sound. Suppuration -core- is indicative of KOTOKO's own rock-ish style, and she makes heavier use of guitar in her independent debut album, Hane. Rarely is a KOTOKO track so dark, apart from Collective, which is also an excellent dark, guitar-heavy track.

In the context of Chikane's character, these tracks offer insight into her motivations and thoughts, and add a lot more impact to her actions in the series. A must listen for any Chikane fan.

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Zegapain

(Originally 21 December 2006)

The more I think about Zegapain's ending, the more gratuitous the writing seems. Over the top fights, rather compressed story, introduction of new characters, and most things wrapping up too neatly in the span of an episode. That said, the writing throughout the series was pretty solid. It wasn't as epic in scale as Escaflowne, but it was mind bending in its own right. Escaflowne's ending with the wishes colliding notion was just confusing, though.

It took me a few episodes to get into the story. The Matrix-esque scenes in the second or third episode, with hidden messages and disappearing entities, was a good hook. The series was very marathon-able, even though it raised some head-scratching questions.

Kyo, the main character, screams when he fights, says a few foot in mouth things early on, and is generally forced to act the clueless (and unbelieving) person so that others can explain the series universe to us through him. Thumbs up for having a backbone and being assertive, thumbs down for talking a wee bit too much, and stepping into cocky territory.

I'm not too sure how I'd take being told that the world I live in is virtual, my life is a lie, and the world reboots at the same time every year. But then again, I've seen The Matrix (and now Zegapain), so I think I'd take it pretty well. It's therefore hard for me to sympathize Kyo's confusion, and it feels more contrived than anything.

Ryoko, on the other hand, takes it ridiculously well. I think she's easily the best character of the series, which is a hard thing for me to say given that Chikane's VA played Shizuno, who is automatically made bad-ass by Kawasumi Ayako's golden touch. But Shizuno's story didn't have nearly as much going for her as did Ryoko's.

I'm not crazy about moe, and that's all Ryoko was at first. I figured it was going to be hard to like her, and it was true for the first nine or so episodes. She was cute, but clueless and insecure, and her dialogue was irritatingly shallow. But then she discovers what Kyo discovers, and rather than sit in a corner and whine about what life means or something else, she goes and becomes this insanely great weapons system officer. On a side note, the abbreviation for weapons system officer, WSO, can be pronounced like wizzo. Maybe that's where the term wizard came from?

Forget whatever I saw (or said) nine episodes ago, this is the real Ryoko. She's still adorable and her voice is still moe, but her actions and dialogue are anything but. It's almost as if her awakening is this epiphany that causes her to age five years, and it's freaking awesome. She vaults from bottom of the barrel in character rankings to first place.

The Zegapain gunners and their wizards get the lion's share of characterization, and most of the plot revolves around them so it's only fair. It's just that Ryoko is a stand-out character, given the circumstances of her awakening, her relatively recent arrival, and her immediate skill level.

If you become a Ryoko fan, then the writers will then proceed to beat you down. The twists in the plot are pretty painful for Ryoko boosters, but they make for great watching. The OP and ED animation sequences change up semi-frequently, too, and I watched every single sequence to see if there was something new. Sometimes they'll also run different cuts and lengths of Little Goodbye as well, which is pure ownage for me at this point in time. Usually the ED track isn't introduced early unless it's the last episode, or something huge happens. It's as if every other episode something huge happens, though. I found those introductions generally appropriate, i.e. it wasn't thrown in gratuitously, and it didn't get stale but that might be bias for Little Goodbye on my part.

Music was appropriate, but only Little Goodbye caught my ear.

Animation, didn't suck. Mostly. Sunrise animated Escaflowne and they own the Gundam franchise. There's no way that they could screw up the animation for a giant fighting robot series, right?

Sup, stock footage. Perhaps Zegapain wasn't a Gundam series so its budget was a tad small. The same CG combat scenes were used in several episodes, particularly early on the series. There was at least one scene that was reused, and they just changed the skin of the Zegapain model that was fighting, but the enemies, and the fight choreography, was exactly the same. Well, maybe the sky was a different colour too. I can understand how CG reuse must be extremely tempting, but it's Sunrise. You just don't play with fire when you animate the likes of Gundam. And Escaflowne.

The main argument goes something like, the fights aren't the main focus, it's the story. Clearly emphasis is placed on scenes that are not fighting, except the end with its epic, if over the top, battle. This would make Zegapain akin to Kannazuki no Miko in that respect. If Zegapain were to be licensed, I'd seriously consider getting it and forcing it upon the few who haven't fled from me in terror. Solid writing, Kawasumi Ayako as Shizuno, Kaminagi Ryoko, Little Goodbye, are all compelling reasons to purchase the series.

(Later)

The OP has grown on me, although there aren't many appropriate occasions to listen to it. In general it's too calm. I have to not be doing anything in order to soak in the ambience.

A note about the OP and ED sequences. Both of them are character-centric, giving away nothing about the story and only hinting at relationships. While not visually appealing for those looking for more action from what should be a mecha series (which it is but only in part), the sequences fit the overall atmosphere well.

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Waiting at the gates with clubs in hand

Probably along with Shizuru/Natsuki, Limone/Dominura, and Chikane/Himeko fans, I feel like I've been trolled by all of the Negima fans. Trolled. That is all.

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Kannazuki no Miko: Link Resource

(Originally 13 November 2006)

I have KOTOKO's Fatally sitting on my desktop, largely forgotten. One day in August after finals, I noticed it and on a whim began looking for Fatally on YouTube. This later brought on Nanoha and Nanoha A's, but at the moment, I stumbled across Re-Sublimity and Agony AMV's. Being the OP and ED for KnM, they led me to uploads of the series. It was a longer and more convoluted path than I've described, most of it through various other AMV's and maybe an episode or two of Nanoha, but the above is the gist of it.

Anyway, that's the unlikely beginning of my interest in the series. I later stumbled across a lot of other discussion, which I've listed below. I really appreciate AMVS.org's KnM tribute and analysis of the best character of the show.

The director was also an animation director/assistant animation director for some episodes of Escaflowne. Although I don't pay attention to mecha designs, I don't think that Escaflowne had much of an influence on KannaMiko's mecha.

Commentary

• Stripey's episode commentary
• Zyl's personal commentary
• KnM tribute with episode commentary and extensive character analysis
• Shoujo-Ai thread — director commentary for episodes 8 and 12 on page 48
• AnimeSuki thread
• Re-sublimity — OP theme translation
• agony — ED theme translation

With regard to Shoujo-Ai and AnimeSuki, there is well in excess of 1000 posts in each thread. I waded through most of the AnimeSuki thread. There are some real pros at analysing characters, situations, morality, as well as making very accurate predictions. The latter declaration is tempered by the fact that the manga was already in print, but since it would not conclude until after the series, the predictions made about the ending, and the developments leading up to said ending, amount to clairvoyance at times.

Series Material

• Episodes 1-8
• Episodes 8-12
• Translations for the drama CD released during the TV run, and appears to take place between episodes 5 and 6
• Poignant clips from KnM

Fan Fiction

I really want to plug Final Healing, and Blinded by Jen-chan, who uses Shaw! It's a shame that they decided to fall back to the west. Anyway, it's a well written story that imagines the events following the final episode. My respect for Chikane went through the roof after reading this. More commentary later.

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Diversions

(Originally 22 October 2006)

Work is kind of owning me. I've been on work terms before but typically any obstacles to progress lay solely with me. Perhaps I put on a braver face back then and pinned my inability to get things done on just me not knowing enough, not putting in the effort. Maybe now, I just point fingers.

I've given a few perhaps unwilling friends quite an earful about problems probably most jaded digital hardware designers deal with on an all too frequent basis. I hoped it might have been vaguely educational. I'm learning quite a bit despite being more or less stone-walled on multiple occasions by design tools, integration problems, implementation issues, testing and prototyping. It sounds a lot like fighting through a good chunk of a digital design flow, actually.

Anyway, I was kind of bummed out Friday after running into a quirk created by some fool of a designer, and picked up by a design tool, that essentially led me to think, "I'm screwed," as well as wasting a day or two banging my against the wall. Unfortunately, afk's release of Kanon ep 3 had not come out (and wouldn't until Saturday afternoon), and for no particular reason I've become somewhat loyal to afk and didn't feel like going for the Static-Subs/Eclipse release, nor The Waffle House/Sprocket Hole release. In the end, with midnight approaching I decided to TWH/Sprocket Hole and let the download run overnight.

The number "significant" events per episode seems kind of low, typically because there is quite a bit of dialogue. However, I am nevertheless fairly entertained and don't mind the length of each event/incident, maybe because the dialogue flows well and is informative, and the little animation details that get injected, like switching scene shots, stuff happening in the background, keep me busy.

I finished semi-marathoning AIR over the working week, after work of course (you all know I don't get out at all), and my impression was excellent scene direction and it was visually appealing all around, but there wasn't much of a story. The various character stories resolved themselves fairly quickly (although the series is only really 12 episodes), and the ending left me kind of disappointed with all of the time-shifting that went on. The intended effect was to make the viewer have some kind of epiphany as they saw the cyclical pattern invoked, but I didn't feel any relevation, much less an "Ah ha!" moment once things clicked together. I think for the most part there wasn't enough development to justify a solid connection of seemingly disparate elements, so I just accepted things with indifference and that was that.

Nevertheless, I was still entertained, and the same goes for Kanon. Not much development in the story thus far since more mysteries are introduced than steps taken to resolve them, but I continue to remain entertained because of the little things. One might say that the studio (Kyoto Animation) is great at inserting filler while not being too obvious about it.

Ditto for Asatte no Houkou. Not much is happening there either, but I wasn't bored despite the paucity of development and dialogue.

I also checked out Hataraki Man. Arienai is the only group that I know of that is currently subbing the series. My rather sad laptop apparently has a hard time running H.264 compressed video, but no dropped frames (except at the beginning as VLC buffers the data) so far even at 100% utilization. The same can't be said for ZnT in H.264.

Only one episode of Hataraki Man is out, but I rather like it thus far. Its premise seems fairly grounded in reality. There are no lesbian school girls, or giant fighting robots, or any kind of large scale destruction really. The first episode takes a stab at things like office politics, government politics, scandals, whistleblowers and repercussions, ethics and journalistic integrity, and work versus having a social life. Pretty heavy stuff and all of it crammed into one episode. It would be awesome if the stories only gets better from here on in. I get the feeling that the main storyline is going to be contained in a single episode, or in fairly short 2 or 3 episode arcs, and then a new one will manifest itself.

The lead character is female, workaholic, overachiever, and reminds me of a certain someone in my class. I don't know why that's a draw for me. I suppose I can relate to the character if I've seen someone like her in action. Then in marked contrast there's the slacker who just gets the necessary stuff done and can't be bothered to spend any more of this time playing the climb the corporate ladder game.

Sometimes I stare at those kinds of people in disbelief. Other times, I want to be like them, secure in my belief that I don't have to play by other people's rules, not caring for the marks game, or the promotion game, or the publishing papers game (which I don't play, but I might in the future — still thinking about grad school).

Just by random I decided reading a KnM fan-novel. I had been meaning to, actually, as there was some clamoring a long time ago on the Shoujo-Ai forums that if KnM were to be remade, it should use the plot of the aforementioned work. I never did get around to it, as work started and such. I started Saturday afternoon, read till about 4 in the morning, started after lunch today, and finished about 9 pm. Apparently the entire thing was about 300 pages equivalent (probably letter size paper) at 10-point font. I'm not sure if that qualifies as fast — that works out to about 10 pages every hour. I thought I used to read much faster, but use it or lose it seems to apply here.

The story is good. The writing itself is decently polished, something that lends most stories credibility. It's probably unfair to quickly judge a story just be the style of writing, but it tends to be a good barometer of the amount of effort the author wishes to put in. Like a good performance, it's all about exceution, execution, execution. I don't purport to have any credibility when it comes to judging execution, but sometimes the difference is night and day.

Anyway, excellent expansion of the KnM universe, creating a backstory behind the somewhat bland or ridiculous premise of the series. Grammar errors abound, but usually not to the point where it was impossible to decipher the intention of the statement, sometimes characters disappeared for a while (I felt), and the epilogue was kind of odd in that a new character was introduced who only played a bit role, barely stirring the pot.

There was talk of the author doing a sequel, and maybe that character would play a major role. I look forward to it.

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Kannazuki no Miko: Shipped (pun intended)

One afternoon last year, September 10 to be exact, 3 DVDs from Amazon entered into the shipping system. At least, the shipping information was entered into system, but the DVDs arrived shortly, either the next day or the following day. I draw attention to this to highlight the fact that I bought anime. To make matters more interesting, or worse, I bought Kannazuki no Miko.

There are better series along the same lines as Kannazuki no Miko, hereafter referred to KnM or KannaMiko. Escaflowne comes to mind as having a much more cohesive story, incorporating mecha, mysticism, relationship elements into a compelling experience. Where Escaflowne consistently does well in all three areas, KnM excels at none of them for the duration of the series.

Let's talk giant fighting robots for a moment. The concept requires some buy-in to begin with on both ends. If a team is going to go to the trouble of sketching out some mecha designs, even if they're bland, it's reasonable to expect that they'd be used, and by use, I mean fighting. But no, the mecha in KnM are placed arbitrarily like sex, because it seems that both sell. The mitigating factor is that KnM is is based on a manga of the same name by Kaishaku, so it's hard to fault the animation studio exclusively. If anything, they salvaged a mostly watchable anime from a mostly unreadable manga.

Although uninspired, the mecha is eye candy. Nothing important to the story happens for the duration of these battles, and there is little in the way of actual combat. I think all of the battles save for the final, extended showdown, are token in their brevity, and short battles are usually so lopsided that suspension of belief gives way to eye-rolling.

Combat takes place according to the following formula. Opponent(s) open fire on the Good Guy. Good Guy falters under the attack for the briefest of moments, meant to engender some kind of tension. Not to worry, though, as God Mode is quickly switched back on, the Good Guy utilizes his secret attack, which is the same attack used repeatedly so it's not really secret, which has a name, and which requires said name to be screamed like IT'S OVER NINE THOUSAND. Opponent(s) bail out, and the Good Guy gets the girl. Or not.

From trawling around a few dominant discussion threads on the series, mecha criticism is the most immediate and dominant. If one watched it in part because it technically fell into the mecha genre, they were more than disappointed, they were embittered. To others, the combat was a skippable irritant.

There's not much to comment concerning mysticism. It's used as an ability and serves to turn the plot in some series, but here it's used solely to form a premise. The outcome is very weak, because there is no plausible ability seen in KnM since it goes out the window with the mecha battles. As a premise, it manifests itself in a significant way only in a few key scenes, not nearly enough to be pervasive. Mysticism merely takes a back scene to the only element that was executed with non-catastrophic results.

That's not to say that the relationship element was spectacular. It, too, is not pervasive. It has the dubious honour of being the most controversial, though. This is yuri, after all, with fighting robots. Some might argue that the wrong crowds were drawn together, who were waiting around for the obvious (in their minds) pairing to come out of the wash. When the straight crowd lost, so to speak, denial is a great trolling tactic.

The intention, if there was any serious one, was to set up a love triangle. It wound up being cut and dry instead. At no point in the series except the end (of course) was their two contenders. There was the straight pairing, and the token third wheel. Worse, the third wheel character knew it and accepted it. Without any additional information concerning the manga or spoilers, one might have been convinced that the guy does get the girl. I don't know if the creators were trying to be deliberately clever or inadvertently disingenuous, because the guy doesn't get the girl, but you should know that already.

I have Escaflowne on DVD by the way, so why would I want what I've made out to be a much weaker (and shorter) incarnation? It seems like a naive answer, especially one that put me out some seventy-odd dollars, but I wanted a certain moment and a certain character immortalized (barring disaster and disc rot before I die) on a piece of plastic and glass.

KnM is an extreme example of cost-benefit, risk-reward undertaking. The bits of story, the sparsely used premise, the characterization, are only present for the purpose of build up to a single defining moment. No, it's not that one from the eighth episode; it's at the end. Characters have to be viewed in a certain way, or else the moment loses its power. Opinion is forged, literally manufactured through black and white actions and characterization, and premise creates this epic sense of tragedy.

Prior to watching KnM, I've never cried for a character. I've come close a few times, usually in situations where the journey's over, and they're finally going home. I've never gotten that attached to a character, but it's also because bittersweet moment are just that. What struck me with Himeko's redemption of Chikane, and Chikane's acceptance, was the immense solemnity of it all. Much of the potential joy is tempered by weighing all that has happened to create this moment. From a technical standpoint, so much was sacrificed that the resulting epiphany is enough to make me sit back and take notice.

At the same time, that much more was sacrificed by Chikane, rationally or otherwise, that I am moved to tears every time I watch the final episode. Her tragic journey's conclusion begins not with pretty flowers but in war, drenched her own blood. It was stark, poignant and very human. For that, Kannazuki no Miko, and Chikane, sit in a well-earned slot on my bookshelf.

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Failed Protector: A Kannazuki no Miko wallpaper

Want a kick ass wallpaper concerning something you probably have no idea about? No? Well too bad, you're never going to get back the 10 seconds it took to read this (well stop reading already).

The artist has done more. Much, much more.

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