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[yon-nyan]

My name is Katsuki Yuri! I’m a dime a dozen Japanese Figure Skater. ──☆*:・ﾟ

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[yon-nyan]

The Shortcomings of Anime in 2017

Today, I decided to focus on my favourite pass-time (second to reading, of course): watching anime, but as I sat down to do it, I felt completely uninspired. This year has been a colossal titan of slumps and ruts, which has prevented me from enjoying many things that I normally turn to for fun and relaxation. Being able to watch anime definitely took a severe hit, but after deeper contemplation I have come to the realisation that the most logical reason behind my anime watching slumps have been the content that’s been available for 2017. Most of this year’s creations have been terrible and unpleasant, thus making it much easier for me to fall into an unintentional anime watching vacation.

I recently finished watching the first season of Inuyasha, which is a favourite of mine, however, it wasn’t always. While I remember having liked it very much upon my first watch-through, it wasn’t until this re-visit that I came to understand how much I love Inuyasha and why I love it so much. Long story short: it was fantastic in almost every single way. There’s great, consistent storytelling, amazing visuals that still hold up rather well, interesting and multi-faceted characters, and narratives within the series as a whole that could resonate with almost every sort of person on one level or another. It wasn’t a perfect series, most serials rarely are, but it was phenomenal and beautifully engaging. Modern anime sufficiently lacks many of the qualities that originally made me fall in love with the medium, qualities that can be found in a series like Inuyasha.

The 2017 seasons have mostly consisted of new additions to long-time familiars, and whatever new shows did sprout up, were laced with appalling tropes, poor storytelling, cringe-worthy humour, or it just focused so much on fan-service that it drowned out virtually everything else. While there are a few that have stood out and been remarkable, such as The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, March Comes in Like a Lion, Sakura Quest, and Tsuki ga Kirei, (and a couple others) most of them have been so disappointing that before I could realise what was happening, I had stopped watching them almost entirely.

Modern day anime caters more to the Western spheres and audiences rather than what works in Japan, and has worked there for many years. As this medium gains more popularity, spreading farther and farther to the corners of the world, the demand for genuine and consistently original content seems to have diminished in the face of common stereotypes. You would assume that the opposite affect would happen, but it didn’t. A lot of people who have grown to watch anime in the modern age, did so in the wake of shows like One Piece, Naruto, and shows revolving around musical idols. There’s nothing wrong with these if they float your fancy, but they aren’t the only things that this glorious medium has to offer. Originality, pure and intellectual creations of brilliance, are unwanted because then they’re too different from these mainstream titles.

Common tropes, usually dripping with moe, and over-the-top action are the preferred flavours. If a show isn’t following these tropes, then they result to absolutely ridiculous storytelling dynamics simply for the shock value and to say that it’s “different.” A perfect example of this is Elegant Yokai Apartment Life. It was a series that had the potential to resonate with feel-good vibes akin to Natsume’s Book of Friends, but instead progressed forward with some of the worst, what-the-fuck moments that I have ever seen. Most of it was a horrid mixture of lacklustre stereotypes and forced, incoherent jaw-droppers (that were more boring than anything else) that made it seem like even the writers didn’t know what to do with it.

Tsuki ga Kirei was a phenomenal series about awkward first romances around the pre-teen age that was genuine and honest. Yet a lot of people didn’t care for it because it didn’t have fan-service, or due to its slow progression (it’s very much a story-driven title). Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju is a masterful exploration of rakugo, or Japanese verbal storytelling. It’s quite an intricate and beautiful performing art. The series exhibits traditional Japanese culture, while examining how it’s a struggling art form in contemporary Japanese society. But it’s quite unknown in many circles because it’s not filled with tedious action sequences, and focuses too heavily on a concept that is very much alien to Western audiences.

Another example is Sakura Quest. This show is mostly popular due to the fact it has cute young women in it. However, when I try to discuss other parts of the series that really drew me into it, aspects unrelated to the ladies or other cutesy things, I lose whomever I’m speaking with. This show is a marvellous piece on how small towns in Japan struggle to survive, particularly where tourism is concerned, when compared to much larger metropolitan cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. It shows the audience how many old-time traditions that Japan was originally built upon are being squished out of existence, and how these small communities are faced with the difficulties of keeping their traditions and heritage alive. But no one wants to talk about this, not when this character has big breasts and this other one is moe incarnate.

Look, I love anime, I really fucking do. I’m wholeheartedly stoked that anime is becoming much more than just a strange hobby that weird nerds do in the basement. The medium has a lot to offer, both artistically and scientifically (computer science). As someone who has a deep-rooted passion for exceptional storytelling, I must say that anime has exposed me to plenty of the finest narratives that I’ve ever come across. Nonetheless, I don’t want to see popularity strangle the brilliant potential out of the medium. Tropes are great when utilised with originality and creativity, but we need those things to keep anime great: originality, creativity, thinking outside of the popular box, allowing it to be genuine and true to it’s source rather than burying it in Western influences–those kinds of things.

While I didn’t set out to rant about my disappointments with anime in 2017, I am glad that I did so. I’m also very glad that it all came straight from the heart because a conversation like this needs to be genuine and real. In 2018, while I shall be more reserved about the offerings, I’m also going to be really hopeful. This isn’t the first time that anime has lost its way in the crowd of recognition and celebrity, and I doubt it will be the last. Nevertheless, I trust that it will find its way back to the masterful and innovative storytelling as it has plenty of times before… and if it doesn’t… in the words of Spike, “Oh well, whatever happens, happens.”

[yon-nyan]

She’s got the prettiest beady eyeballs. 🖤🖤 • • • #blackcat #blackkitty #blackkitten #catbabe #shinobi #prettykitty #cutekitten #beautifulkitten #kittengram #kittens #cateyes #kittygram #catgram #catpictures #catphoto #catlover #catlady #catladylife #readingbuddy #neko #kawaiineko #nekogram #igcats #instakitty

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Peter Pan and Tiger Lily

LOOK AT THESE PRECIOUS BBYS HHHHHHHH

Tiger Lily: http://littleblueflamingo.tumblr.com/ photo/edit: http://eatmybananashorts.tumblr.com/

[yon-nyan]

♥ Being Surrounded by Kitties!

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As I listen to "We Are" by ONE OK ROCK, tears come to my eyes. This song is so extraordinary & resonates with me in such an intimate way. As a person who struggles with Depression, I fight every single day to find a way to keep living & to fight the monsters that hold me down. This song, every time I listen to it, it helps me realise & keeps me believing that I am strong & that I matter. That I deserve to live. ONE OK ROCK & the music that they create is so profound in the way that it can reach down into the darkest parts of you to shine light. The first time I listened to their music, the song "The Beginning," was in the wake of my brother's death. Every word, every note of that song, filled me with such emotion that for the very first time I was able to grieve his loss & I finally cried. They're my favourite band for a reason: they are extraordinary. In every way. They make a difference. As a sick person, I'm dying & I've always feared I'd never get to see them before I died. But in less than one week, I will finally get to meet them & see them play live in Sacramento. Words cannot express what this moment means to me. Even now as I listen to their music, I cry with such gratitude & appreciation. Thank you, ONE OK ROCK. Thank you for all that you do and for all that you are. You guys truly rock. 🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽 • @oneokrockofficial @10969taka #oneokrock #oneokrockfans #oneokrockambitions #music #japaneserock #jrock #rockmusic #musicthatmatters #musicthatmoves

[yon-nyan]

Attack on Titan Season 2 - Anime Review

Attack on Titan Season 2 was one of the most anticipated shows of the year, let alone this season. Four years of waiting after a cliffhanger season finale fuelled with emotional intensity and more questions than anyone could have imagined, I had expected so much more from this season. I already know that going into this review, my opinion may be an unpopular one. But you know what, that’s totally okay.

For anyone unfamiliar, the basic premise of Attack on Titan revolves around humanity that has been secluded behind gargantuan walls to protect them from gigantic humanoid, sexless creatures known as titans that like to eat humans. The world is broken up by different divisions, as such each wall is named in conjunction to the areas they protect. The further inwards you go, the more tightly protected the cities are supposed to be. Humans are currently trying to fight these extraordinary creatures, while simultaneously attempting to crack the mystery behind their existence.

The first episode of the new season picked up pretty much exactly where the first one ended. That was nice. The recaps were kept relatively short to compensate for the time elapsed in between seasons without letting us drown in repetitiveness. There were a lot of minor things that I noticed about the show after a few weeks of watching. Some of them are good, but the rest are decidedly not great at all.

Let’s start with the technical stuff. The animation quality was good. Compared to the first season, that’s all it was: good. Initially, I felt the animation was far superior to the first season. But after a recent re-watch of the all 26-episodes, I’m inclined to disagree with that notion. The improvements overall were very miniscule in nature, which was one of the biggest disappointments that I felt. Wit Studio has produced some other shows within the four year span, all of which had spectacular animation. One such example is Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress (Kōtetsujō no Kabaneri), which was essentially a steampunk version of Attack on Titan. Nonetheless, it was gorgeous to watch with action scenes dripping in details and meticulous incorporation of CGI elements. Was it perfect? No. Was it a vast improvement over what they originally started with? Hell yeah. But alas, it wasn’t implemented with this new season of Attack on Titan. Part of me thinks that they didn’t want to deal with devastating time crunches that the company experienced when Season One was airing, where the rush and pressure produced shoddy work. I can respect that, but I still hoped for something a little bit more.

The action sequences themselves felt naked without the implementation of CGI similar to the styles used in the original season. There is a drastic change in artistic style in regards to movement and motion, that felt like a genuine step back. The lack of sharpness and the clarity that comes with computer enhancements, made the retrogression simulate hand-drawn sequences. Normally, that’s not a bad thing, but when you’ve already got your audience familiarised with better quality, it would be ill-advised to defer to something less than expected.

Some other things that I didn’t care for consisted of the overall plot, it’s progression, and implementation. The entire premise of the 12-episode season is basically a human treasure hunt, a damn slow one to boot. Detailed revelations on the existence of the titans was severely limited. We learn one or two things that lead to a much bigger picture, yet in the end it takes five hours to get there, and it’s really not that extraordinary in the grand scheme of things. The vast chunk of the season is devoted to long stretches of dialogue that could have been accomplished in half the time that they actually took up. If there weren’t dialogues, then there were an immense number of flashbacks, most of them we could’ve done completely without as they were snippets from the first season. There just wasn’t nearly as much storytelling as there should’ve been. There’s a whole lot of build-up to something super badass, only to fall utterly short with total dissatisfaction.

In any case, Attack on Titan does maintain it’s high-intensity suspense that just propels you forward one scene after another with disgustingly hungry eyes. You get so invested in what the hell’s going to happen next that the time flies by, making each twenty-some-odd minute episode feel like mere seconds in length. It’s always been damn good at enrapturing your entire attention. I adored that, missed it immensely even. It’s a trait that works very well for a series that has built itself up on viciously violent imagery and heartbreaking losses. Nonetheless, this may be its only redeeming quality.

Overall, I was not impressed with Attack on Titan Season Two. Having to wait four years for only 12-episodes of dialogue and flashback regurgitation seems like a colossal waste. I would have prefered waiting longer for a much better and beautiful storytelling experience. While I am happy that I got to watch this while it simulcasted, I’m very sad that I felt so frustrated with it.

5 potatoes outta 10!

[yon-nyan]

Cowboy Bebop (1998) - Anime Review

Nineteen years ago, during the year 1998, a Space Western anime was released by the name of Cowboy Bebop, an anime that would go on to become one of the finest pieces of animation ever made. Adapted and completely redesigned from its manga counterpart, with direction by Shinichirō Watanabe, this 26-episode long, seinen neo-noir anime series would continue to astound fans of the medium for decades to come.

While this is going to be a review on the anime series in its entirety, I want to point out that this may not be like my other reviews. I don’t just want to prattle about how good the animation is, or how fantastic the music composition is. I may briefly touch on the standard characteristics that usually go into my reviews for the medium, however, today I want to discuss with you guys a few of the facets that truly makes Cowboy Bebop an astounding artistic masterpiece; a true classic for even more decades to come.

Cowboy Bebop follows the exploits of a ragtag crew of bounty hunters that end up coming together through various circumstances on the ship known simply as Bebop. We get to watch them manoeuvre their way through a mine field of galactic criminals that are ripe (and occasionally not so ripe at all) with woolongs (currency), awkward interactions with each another as well as blasts from their pasts, and plenty of blazing space and bullet-infused battles.

The episodes for the show tend to be very episodic in nature, usually in two-parts, with stunning fluidity from one space romp to the next. Even though most of the episodes are unrelated, there’s never a disjointed feeling of randomness, or having any kinds of fillers simply to bulk out the serial. It all fits wonderfully. Everything just belongs, nothing more and nothing less. When we do have story-specific arcs, they are laced with emotional intensity and the complexities that go with having a past you’re not so fond of. There’s so much grey in between the black and white that each character is portrayed to be multidimensional and so much more than a pretty face, or an intellectual genius.

The chemistry between all of the members of Bebop is one of my absolute favourite elements. They are flawed as fuck human beings, with quirks that cause a lot of grating disagreements and vexing (for them, not the audience) interactions. Nonetheless, they all have a key component in common that holds them together like a dysfunctional family. No matter how many times they try to walk away, eventually they find themselves back home. This is realistic. It’s believable. It’s something to connect with. Some will have a much more intimate relation to it than others. It’s comforting.

As I mentioned earlier, the animation, regardless of being almost 20 years old, still holds up really damn well. The power is in the details, literally. There are so many details that went into establishing the environments within the series that the best way to describe it is breath-taking. Whether the setting is the interior (or even exterior) of a ship, space itself, planets with crumbling or bustling cities, the characters themselves and the expressions that they make—it’s all extremely astounding. These little soft lines and harsh curves with unique shades of red, blue, and orange all create the mood and tone for which makes Bebop a bonafide neo-noir experience.

Even with all of these awesome traits, none of it really means anything if you can’t look beyond the animation and the cast to see just how far ahead of its time Cowboy Bebop truly was.

It’s 1998 and gender roles are getting less defined. This show broke gender moulds back then, and it continues to do so in the modern age. You have women, beautiful women and average women and women from all walks of life in regards to race, ethnicity, etc., who are never judged for being just that. They are portrayed as very strong, independent ass-kickers. It didn’t matter if they were criminals, heroes, or in between somewhere. The women in the show are some of the most intelligent people, and it’s never questioned or treated like it’s some kind of phenomenon. Good examples of badass ladies include Faye Valentine, Julia, and a very special bartender who’s a good friend of Spike’s (name’s not given to avoid spoilers).

One of our main characters, Edward, is a teenage girl, but it’s rarely brought up. Hell, her name is Edward. People don’t really care if she’s a she. Ed is a genius and eccentric as all fuck, and quite androgynous. Her brilliance is what makes her a compelling character. Yes, some people do gander at her gender, but it’s more of a passing curiosity. Her ability to do what she does is never doubted or questioned because of her being a girl. Most of the doubt stems from her sensationally unique persona and young age. We have another character in one of the episodes that’s a hermaphrodite. While it’s a bit uncommon, it never becomes the focal point of who he is or what he does. He’s just another person in the galaxy who’s got his own burden to bear.

So, yeah, gender roles and our ridiculous pre-conceived notions of what gender means doesn’t mean shit in this anime. I fucking love it.

A more common motif in the series is the belief that you are always a master of your own choices and leader of your own fate. Life is something to do with what you will, which is clearly exhibited by the decisions taken by our motley crew of criminal hunters, especially as their pasts begin to surface and reveal itself. Allowing yourself to be held back by some predetermined ideals that you may not even believe in isn’t living. The idea of having “obligations” and that there’s always an inherent “right” and “wrong,” is utterly false in the grand scheme of things and don’t account for jack shit if you’re going to be miserable in the end. This motif is beautifully complimented and further ingrained by the music…

Something else that gives the series loads and loads of depth is… the music. I’m sure that anyone reading this review that’s already had a chance to watch this anime was probably wondering when I’d bring this up. Well, here it comes. Hold on to your butts, my friends.

Yoko Kanno is quite possibly one of the most brilliant composers of the modern age. Her work has made appearances in many anime serials across the board from Wolf’s Rain to Terror in Resonance and a few others; each one a magnificent and stellar feat of musical capacities. Yet, I don’t think she can ever really top what she’s accomplished with Cowboy Bebop.

The Seatbelts is the fictitious Japanese space jazz band led by Kanno. The name derives from how the performers wear seatbelts to be safe as they participate in some serious hard-core jam sessions. This band, put together by Kanno, is responsible for all of the music in Cowboy Bebop.

The styles of music utilised is enthrallingly diverse and ranges from straight big band jazz to blues, acoustic ballads, hard rock, and country to funk and electronic. Hip-hop and experimental compositional elements also make their appearances. Aside from sounding extraordinary, the music in and of itself speaks volumes of what the show is about. If you look at most, if not all, of these genres, they began during periods of history where a voice of rebellion needed to rise. It was a means for people to expel their frustrations at life and all of the bullshit that they had to endure. Blues is a very depressing genre, originally created to voice the hardships that came from slavery and oppression. Jazz became a significant boom during the 1920s when war was looming and young folks were forced to fight or choose a side; when a passionate desire for independence was boiling to its peak. This included the rise of women’s empowerment and freedom of choice.

Every genre used to create the tunes began as a fight against being oppressed and having severely limited rights, if you had any to begin with. The music was about growing up and facing your fears and your monsters, to make life what you wanted of it. These genres were all born out of necessity to have something powerful and positive to believe in; a way to share the pain so you could stop it from continuing onwards.

As I mentioned earlier, this theme is apparent in all four members of our cast—Faye Valentine, Jet Black, Spike Spiegel, and even Edward. They all had something they were fighting for and some strong personal beliefs that drove them to become the people that they became; changes that needed to be made so they could be the stronger, better versions of their old selves.

Cowboy Bebop has so much more to it than the few things I’ve mentioned in this insanely long ass review. To be blunt, I wish I could talk about all of them because that’s how much I loved this series. I’m so passionate about it and what it means and what it stands for. But if I chat about everything, then you guys may not want to pick it up (if you haven’t already). I know that hype can have a negative effect on me; look at how long it took me to pick up the series.

While I do regret not picking it up sooner, I’m supremely satisfied with the fact that I waited so long. The world is a terribly different place now than it was in 1998. Not only was I just a child, there honestly wasn’t much that I could’ve related to the show back then as there is now, at least for me as an individual watcher. Maturity aside, I feel like the messages that are shared so passionately and so brilliantly in this anime are far more superior and relevant in 2017 than they would’ve been in 1998. But the fact that is was made 20 years ago, just goes to show you how far ahead of its time it truly was, which further intensifies my love for the science-fiction genre, no matter the medium.

In conclusion, I want to make one thing very clear: Cowboy Bebop is what it is, is as powerful and as remarkable as it is, because everything fits together so nicely. If you remove even one small facet of the show, it would’ve fallen completely apart. The music, any one of the characters (including minor ones), the animation, the motifs—anything at all and it wouldn’t be a work of art. It’s complex and intricate because every single piece makes it so; they’ve all got their place. Lose a single one and you’ve got nothing but a mediocre space western. Details are what create a masterpiece, especially when they’re subtle and natural.

10 cigarettes outta 10!

[yon-nyan]

[yon-nyan]