Tides

In this second part of a series on anime as an art form, the other side of the coin is examined. Whereas the first part focused on criticisms by Western viewers of anime that were either invalid or unsound, the second part focuses on the criticisms of anime tropes. While tropes themselves are not inherently bad, they can often lead to lazy writing or storyboarding; if anime is to be considered a true art form, it must transcend past entertainment tropes to become artworks.

Many anime tropes are products of an entertainment industry interested in churning out content for the bottom barrel. Tropes such as bland and overpowered protagonists or wish fulfillment are aimed at younger audiences, while tropes such as bad pacing or empty monologues exist due to the stipulations by production and television companies. Care is given not to examine tropes that are cultural in nature (such as Japanese characterization), but facial expressions and their lack of subtlety does hinder the ability for art to resist rationalization, and therefore is included. While the list is not comprehensive, it does help point new viewers in a direction as to what makes good anime and what makes bad anime, and therefore how to discern what shows to watch if they wish to watch anime that are artworks rather than art objects.

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Fate Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works is the fifth anime adaptation of the Fate series and third adaptation from the Fate Stay Night visual novel. It’s the sequel to the Fate/Stay Night prequel Fate/Zero and, with Heaven’s Feel in the wing, the second in a soon to be three-part Ufotable Fate Stay Night collection.

Its plot follows the Unlimited Blade Works story-line of the Fate Stay Night visual novel, branching off halfway through the story of Emiya Shirou’s Holy Grail war (a battle royal between ancient magical heroes) to focus more on the heroine Rin Tosaka and her Servant, Archer. Archer has ulterior motives for participating in the Holy Grail war that involves Shirou in more ways than one. Together with his Servant Saber, Shirou and Rin must find a way of stopping not only the other masters and servants, but stopping the complete destruction of their home city.

So far this anime possesses not just the highest quality of animation and best sound track for a Fate series but it also contain’s much more character development, better pacing and a twist that completely changes the way you will look at the series. A must watch for any fans of Fate, my only caveat is that you watch Fate/Zero before it as its context bring into perspective the cause of the main characters’ deep seeded ideologies.

Rating: 8.5/10

→ Full review (on Fantasy and Anime)

With the English dub of Parasyte -The Maxim about to be aired on the Adult Swim block of Toonami on the 3rd of October, I thought a spoiler free review would be in order for those of you curious enough to want to know what you’re going to be in for.

Does Parasyte -The Maxim have aspects of horror and gore? Yes, but even if you don’t find that appealing it shouldn’t put you off because alongside the horror elements comes one of most thrilling atmospheres in an anime since Death Note. With subtle drama, great action scenes and character development that actually makes sense in the context of the story, Parasyte -The Maxim is the best adult action anime I have watched since Attack on Titan.

Parasyte -The Maxim shares many similar traits in common with the classic Spiderman origins story. Geek gains powers, loses loved ones and his character changes until he’s a badass fighting other badasses. However, what this anime does is give us a deeper look into the inner-conflict that this change creates between the main character and the ones he cares for.

We are also given view into the alien minds of the Parasites, their goals and how, through their relationships with humans, they come to understand them and our world.

Rating: 8.5/10

→ Full review (on Fantasy and Anime)

I’m sure at one time or another you’ve found yourself crushing on an anime character. Yes I know it sounds so strange to those that didn’t know it was possible, but yes it is.

So who are they? Are you only crushing on one or are there multiple? Are the character(s) from an anime your currently watching or is it a character(s) that you’ve always obsessed over? Do you have a specific type of character(s) that you go for or is the range limitless. Is it hard for you to choose just one? Well then go ahead and choose a minimum of 4 but no more than 10.

Yes I know that can be difficult if you have a lot and it’s like trying to choose your favorite child. But believe me it can be done. This author likes 2 characters from Kuroko’s Basketball, a certain character from Death Parade, and a certain demon from Inuyasha. So don’t hesitate and start thinking. If you’ve never thought about it then here’s your chance. So start that thinking and generate a list! I’m sure that inquiring minds want to know. Also please no fighting over characters. There are plenty to go around.

→ Full list article

Daoko`s "Girl" is an animation from the Japan Animator Expo 2015. The same team who worked on the controversial piece: "Me!Me!Me!". ("Me!Me!Me!" steps into the ocean of pornography and neet lifestyle.) The holders of both "Me!Me!Me!" and Daoko`s "Girl" take it upon themselves to speak about the negative sides of certain aspects of Japan. Some which are glorified or seen as positive things in anime format. The best idea they found themselves in were to actually use "anime" instead of any other way of telling it. Which is a solid idea.

Daoko`s "Girl" takes a dive into sexual storytelling. This is the standing point within the whole project. Within first moments of the experience, you are bombarded with tons of symbolism. On completion you may still be confused. However, there are great writers out there that have been so kind on analyzing the piece. Which is in the link. From some information studied about. Daoko`s "Girl" it takes on the subculture known as "enkou" (The exchange of gifts for sexual activities, Usually between ‘working men’ Salary Men and Highschool Girls). It seems that the protagonist of Daoko`s "Girl" takes part in such things.

The overall quality and presentation of Daoko`s "Girl" is magnificent. Through the animation studio at Studio Khara, directors, writers, storyboards and the complete crew who helped deliver such a thing.

→ Full review (on SaechaoCirculation)

After discussing Sword Art Online with many other fans and anime bloggers, here is a list of the many issues with the anime.

These include, but are not limited to:

-The pervasive fan service used throughout the series.
-Character’s willpower overcoming the video game mechanics.
-Every girl being in love with the main character for no reason.
-Turning the heroine into a damsel in distress.
-Multiple rapey-scenes including one with tentacles.
-A bad guy that puts his research lab in a place which the goal of the game was to access.
-The main character does not put his foot down and tell other women he’s already taken.
-Headset that can fry a human brain made it through the hazard and safety line in a -production company.
-The lack of realistic overweight gamer or even parents in the series.
-Randomly generated avatars used as an excuse to make the main character look like a girl.
-Overly long exposition dumps in cafe’s and restaurants.
-Not explaining things like why the main character’s illusions are solid.
-How he can used duel wielding ability without abilities.
-Why the bad guy isn’t afraid to be found out and why they run when in a hurry at times that they could fly.
-The forgotten and over convoluted schemes of the villains.

→ Full list article

Shaft, Inc. are famed for some pretty dark anime. Among their series are Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Dance in the Vampire Bund and the Monogatari series, none of which really fall into the light and happy side of Japanese animation. That’s not say that they aren’t capable of creating carefree shows though, they did after all work on Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling back in the 1980’s. Perhaps a better example of their more light-hearted work is Nisekoi: False Love, an adaption of Naoshi Komi’s Weekly Shōnen Jump romantic comedy.

The story is based on the set-up that two teens, Raku Ichijo and Chitoge Kirisaki, must spend the next three years pretending to be madly in love. The reason for this is that if they don’t, their father’s rival Yakuza gangs are likely to start an all-out turf war. The problem is, the two would-be lovebirds aren’t overly fond of each other.

As harem comedies go, Nisekoi isn’t going to win any prizes for originality. From the character types to the standard issue beach and bath house episodes, it pretty much follows the pattern that you would expect. Rather than letting this drag the show down into ‘nothing new’ territory however, Nisekoi does something to give it an edge: it makes sure that it’s consistently good at what it does. The characters, while not exactly original, are not only likeable but are given space to grow as the series progresses. On top of that, both the humour and the heart-warming moments hit the mark almost every time.

The only place that the anime lets itself down is, oddly enough given the studio, the animation quality. It runs as smoothly as you’d expect for the most part, but walking seems to cause the animators some intermittent issues. When the characters personalities are put across in their movements, such as when Chitoge is in a happy mood, the animation easily is on par with the rest of the show. When the characters are simply moving from point A to point B however, things can get a little jerky, leaving it looking like the animators may have used less frames for these particular movements. Thankfully though, such moments are short-lived and don’t really detract from an otherwise decent show.

Rating: 4/5

→ Full review (on Matt Doyle Media)

Japanese animation gets a lot of flak from traditional Western culture. Words like "immature," "titillating," and "weird" get thrown around a lot by pundits. To be fair, like most art forms there is Japanese animation that is remarkably good and Japanese animation that is remarkably bad-and there is a lot more bad out there than good. However, if anime exists as an art form, then it should follow that anime artworks could potentially exist. If that is the case, then anime should be taken seriously as a school of art, even if not all that it produces is truly serious.

Heidegger states that an artwork must resist rationalization; that is, the impression that the artistic piece gives must requiring a mental or emotional unpacking. It cannot be two-dimensional. If it does not do these things, it moves from being an artwork to an art piece.

Using this definition of art, this article is the first of a series that attempts to pinpoint what makes anime an art form, how anime can achieve artistic purpose, and current animated television shows that can be classified as artwork. In this first part, objections to anime as an art form are defined and explored. In particular, the objections that anime is immature, weird, titillating, shallow, or just plain off are all examined. As these arguments are based in traditional Western beliefs, all of them fall suspect to cultural bias. Furthermore, all of them lack a nuanced understanding of what makes anime-and to a larger extent, all animation-a medium of art. While specific counters are not made to these objections, the article sets the stage for later counter-arguments in the form of specific anime television shows.

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We cannot deny that anime, as a medium and art form, has played a role in changing pop culture over the years. Anime’s biggest influence, however, seems to be on the film industry. Films, such as The Matrix, have credited anime as one of their main influences.

Akira, one of the most critically acclaimed anime in the world, has made the biggest impact not only in the film industry, but in the anime industry as well. Its rich storytelling aesthetics as well as cell-shaded graphics at the time made it a cult classic. Akira also destroyed the stereotype that anime was only for children, showing that it can also be used as an alternative medium in which to tell mature and compelling stories.

Ghost in the Shell was one of the main influences on The Matrix. Both dealt with the themes of man and machine as well as what constitutes as reality. Ghost in the Shell’s influence on The Matrix can be seen in its action sequences, cinematography and dialogue.

So what is the future of anime in Hollywood and the world? Will anime be soon seen as a normal aesthetic in filmmaking? With the ever increasing dependency on digital technology, this may one day seem to be the case.

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It took a while to finally get this review out and on the site. Not because it was exceptionally terrible and thereby a pain to write about. Nor was it the greatest thing ever created by human hands. Instead this first season of the series is in the middle in terms of the content that it delivers that picking out the exceptional parts of it was challenging.

Vandread was one of the many Harem animes that came out before the genre had such a negative connotation with many anime fans. It had a different approach though from others. "What if when the guy picks one of the girls, their vehicles fuse together into a more powerful weapon?" A pretty decent idea but unfortunately there isn’t enough love given to the mecha side of the story to make someone care which of the robots is used as long as there is space combat.

The characters do help to save the show a bit. They are entertaining enough to watch and the fact that men and women come from separate planets does help to set up why they would be so awkward around each other. Just enough character development for fan’s to ship characters together and route for ones they personally relate to.

Overall, not a bad show in the first half but it just needs some polishing here and there. Maybe in its second half it will be able to turn things around.

Rating: 3/5

→ Full review (on The Gigantic Project)

A lot of people like to focus on the Equalist aspect of Avatar: The Legend of Korra, and how it depicts privilege and birthright. However, the show itself presents these themes as background to the real story of the characters and their interactions. If the political themes present in Legend of Korra were intended to be something of significant importance, we should expect them to be reflected in the main characters, as they are the ones closest to the audience and most capable of delivering any message. But when we examine Legend of Korra’s main cast, the opposite message is sent.

By having characters disconnected from the equality themes like this, Legend of Korra takes us, the audience, away from those themes. They become a distant, though interesting, element of the world, even when they are driving the plot. Meanwhile, almost all of the characters’ growth occurs separate from the show’s more political themes.

The majority of the most engaging moments in Legend of Korra have nothing to do with the immediate plot events that surround the Equalist movement and Amon, or the Order of the Red Lotus, or militarism and Earth Nation nationalism of Kuvira, but are when the show moves away from those things.

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For an anime as popular as Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyoujin), it’s easy to see how a live adaptation is on the way.

Even months before it was officially aired in and out of Japan, the hype in various media platforms as regards to its live adaptation is superb. Avid anime fans start to search for its initial character list. Who will play our main guy, Eren? How about the badass Mikasa? Can someone carry out her role well?

But if there’s one important question about the film, it would have to be: Who is playing Levi ?- the one who is tagged by the manga and anime version as ‘humanity’s strongest’.

Yes, Eren is our main guy. He’s that person where this whole story seems to revolve around. His struggles, determination to fight, and willpower to survive is admirable – worthy of emulation at its best. But let’s face it. The few minutes when LEVI-HEICHOU first showed up was among the most unforgettable and thrilling scenes we’ve ever witnessed.

Thus, it’s only appropriate to expect something out of how the film creators would portray our corporal’s distinct role in the series. It’s something to get excited about.

Yet, we’re left wondering: Where did Levi-heichou go?

→ Full review (on JapanTalks)

A huge fan favourite, the Fate Stay Night series of visual novels originally penned by Kinoko Nasu, who also founded Type Moon, coupled with Fate/Zero written by Gen Urobuchi, slowly gained traction in the anime community with the first famed adaptation of Fate Stay Night (TV Series). Spawning many movies, TV series in the form of Fate Zero and the Unlimited Blade Works route, this is surely not just another generic tale of dark fantasy steeped in life-changing consequences.

Part of the Fate series’ attraction lies in the how different character motivations can be despite harbouring arguable ‘good’ intentions. One prime example comes in the form of Emiya Shirou, the protagonist in Fate Stay Night and Unlimited Blade Works whose ideals detract largely from his adopted father, Kiritsugu. Both intended to benefit the world and, to save as many people as possible, yet the way they set about carrying out this mission which is of utter importance to them reveals a fundamental difference in their moral beliefs and value judgments.

This is especially seen in Unlimited Blade Works, where the dialogue-heavy exposition and verbal sparring between Shirou and characters like Archer, Rin Tohsaka and Gilgamesh exposes the weaknesses in Shirou’s beliefs and how impractical and fruitless his blind pursuit in those ideals are. Yet, Shirou’s beliefs – by argument of how the series ends – seem to be promoted as the main takeaway and portrayed in a positive light.

Are the arguments put forth by Archer and Gilgamesh not valid? Are Rin’s concerns for Shirou’s well-being unfounded? Can Shirou’s values stand on their own? This article attempts an exposition of the various arguments propounded by the above-mentioned characters based on the material covered in Unlimited Blade Works, and seeks to examine whether Shirou’s principles are really as admirable as they seem to be.

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Naoki Urasawa’s work, Monster, is published between the years 1994 – 2001, in Big Comic Original magazine, having overall 18 volumes. It is later on adapted into anime series by studio Madhouse, aired in 2004 – 2005. The genre is mystery, psychological horror.

Monster tells the story of a Japanese brain surgeon, Doctor Kenzo Tenma, living in Germany since university. Tenma is respected and loved by people around him because he is extremely skilled and has a cheerful, kind personality. One day, getting tired of the political bias of the hospital he works for in treating its patients, he decides to save a 10-year-old boy rather than the mayor; only to find 9 years later that the boy, Johan, is a psychopath, involved in numerous murders. Fighting with the burning question inside and feeling responsible, he leaves everything behind and sets off on a journey to kill Johan. Imagine you are the doctor and you know the person lying before you, whose life is depending on you, is the reason of mass murders. Would you kill the person or would you save him, thinking it’s not your decision to make no matter what?

Looking at Tenma, his story can only be categorized as a tragedy because what he learned, cannot be forgotten. Furthermore, trying to uncover the truth and desiring to know more only brings distress, depression and unhappiness to Tenma. "All lives are equal." motto is still important to him and in the end Tenma cannot bring himself to kill Johan when he confronts him the second time.

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Imagine a Japanese man turning the key to his apartment door. It’s the end of a work day. It’s late. He’s tired. If he was a salaryman, the stress of his dawn to dusk position could be getting to him. If he was a part-timer or contract worker, the numerous jobs, irregular shifts, and insecure pay is its own stressful beast. As he enters through his door and walks to his kitchen looking for something to stuff his mouth with, he stares in the direction of his bed. He’s tempted to turn in before he collapses from exhaustion immediately after. An exhausting thought creeps into his mind. How long will he suffer this routine, this exhausting monotony of exhausting labor, exhausting day exhausting out exhausting exhausting exhausting…

…and then he realizes his show is on. With whatever food is still hanging from his lips, he flips the channel on his TV to a late-night anime program, full of slice of life, full of moe. Exhaust emptying from his mind, he thinks of cute girls instead of crushing obligations.

While it would be of an overgeneralization to claim that all otaku watch moe slice of life for the above purpose, these shows are undeniably relaxing for many otaku to watch. In a society where otaku resent the notion of living to work, School-Live!, or Gakkou Gurashi!, explores, through the epic metaphor of a zombie apocalypse, who the escapism of moe slice of life speaks to: those who simply want to live.

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The Japanese score composer Kenji Kawai has a both long and wide career behind his back. Having been active in the film score industry for nearly three decades, he has worked on a lot of different stuff over the years both inside and outside of Japan, including his longtime collaborations with cult directors Mamoru Oshii and Hideo Nakata, as well as Wilson Yip’s Ip Man film series, anime series such as Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and the first Fate/Stay Night adaptation, and many more.

Despite his wide variety of projects stretching between both mediums and genres, there exists a highly recognizable style, a flavor, within almost all of his works from the 90s and onwards. It’s a style characterized by its calming yet captivating atmosphere, and which is highly prominent in but at the same time strangely applicable to his different musical approaches.

But what is it that makes this "style" what it is? What elements does Kawai apply to his music in order to achieve this unique atmosphere? Well there are essentially three factors involved in the equation; the first one being the instrumentations. Kawai uses a very unique form of arrangements consisting of a blend between classical orchestra and 80s pop music, something that arguably has its roots in his early days. His score for the landmark film Ghost in the Shell from 1995 also served as a notable instrumental influence, as he for this project incorporated a lot of elements from eastern folk music which he then came to reuse for his later works.

The second ingredient has to do with the mixing. Specifically reverb is something that Kawai uses quite heavily in order to achieve the atmospheric ambience of his music. This is most notable in his more laid back, minimalistic scores, although most distinguishable when comparing his straight-up classically orchestrated pieces to a more traditional classical performance, as you then hear where exactly the mixing differences lie.

The third and arguably most essential ingredient is that of the writing, in which there are two major factors involved. The first one is Kawai’s frequent use of add9 chords. The second has to do with the chord progressions, and how he incorporates chords in which one single note doesn’t belong to the song’s scale, thus making these chords fall into a suspenseful middle-ground between in and out of key.

So as we can see, the music of Kenji Kawai is certainly a wide and interesting subject to dive into.

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Within Tari Tari, P.A. Work’s decision to incorporate highly detailed architectural concepts serves to help the anime’s setting in acting as a visual metaphor for its characters. There are some misconceptions online that claim the architecture in Tari Tari follows the Zen aesthetic, owing to the extensive use of glass at Shirahamazaka High School. However, glass is a fairly commonplace material for building facades, and for Tari Tari, glass is used to allow natural light to illuminate the building’s interiors. This mirrors the characterisation: glass is transparent, and therefore, using it as a facade would allow for light and warmth from the outside to enter the building.

Similarly, each of Wakana, Konatsu, Sawa, Taichi and Wien face their own individual struggles. By opening up to their friends, they allow themselves to be helped, experiencing the benefits of having this support and finding their lives to become enriched in this fashion. Besides strengthening one of the main themes in Tari Tari, the attention to detail with respect to architecture creates a sense of realism that provides a setting that the characters fit well into, ultimately making it easier for viewers to relate to the characters.

Taken together, Tari Tari’s beautiful artwork serves more than just as a visual treat for the eyes: it also augments the story.

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Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade is the much-anticipated sequel from Studio Trigger’s, previous movie Little Witch Academia. Both entries in the series have been highly regarded as being standards for enjoyable stories and an undeniable visual style associated with Trigger. The story focuses on an all girls magic academy as the students study and explores the world that surrounds them.

Akko and her friends Lotte and Sucy continue their bickering and trouble making in this movie. Their punishment is to organize this year, "Witch Parade". The negative aspects of Akko personality present, as she becomes dismissive of he friends ideas. She manages to come up with poorly thought out plans and is surprised when they fail. With her friends awol, she and her new cohorts are tasked with pulling off the parade of without them.

Akko’s more pleasant personality traits are shown at this point. Her determination helps her form a plan that actually works until she is rudely sabotaged by the boys of the town. This leads to an even greater conflict between the young witches and a giant. The town’s people remain ignorant of the danger they are thank’s to some quick thinking from Akko’s teacher Ursula. Akko’s friends return just in time to aid her.

Little Witch Academia excels in many aspects, but it fails for an original story. Magic schools are a common idea, and the creators failed to set their school apart from other series. They neglected to expand even further into the magical world at large. It would have been helpful to know who the witch was that sealed the giant in the first place. The characters are for the most part tradition anime troupes. Akko is the argumentative, aspirational main character, Lotte is the brainy nerd with Sucy being the somber, emo type. Despite its failings, LWA remains an enjoyable series, which should explain how outstanding it is.

Rating: 4.9/5

→ Full review (on Otaku Orbit)

Gurren Lagann is an essential anime for not only fans of the Mecha genre but people who enjoy over the top story telling in general. The show takes a stale trope like the "hero with a heart burning for justice" and is able to interject life into it. The hero has a burning heart? Then make it be the power source that he can use to become stronger and energize his giant robot!

The show has a a great mixture of these over the top bits of action and real human emotion. The highs of this show will get your heart pounding and shouting at the screen in joy. The lows will have you crying your eyes out as you feel the pain that the rest of the cast has to endure.

The show’s only real downfall is its ending. Thought it does have a lot of great moments as it wraps up, it still leaves you with a wanting the ending of a certain character to be different. No spoilers though.

Other than this minor detail with the ending, the series is still an incredible entry to the Giant Robot genre. Anyone who says they are a fan of Mecha needs to see this show to be able to back up the claim.

Rating: 4.5/5

→ Full review (on The Gigantic Project)

In an age where we are continually redefining our sexual identity, genders and relationships with one another an interesting notion for love of the fictional has arisen over the past decades. The flag bearers for this relationship have long since been the otaku fandom. A sub-culture which enables any particular individual to outwardly exclaim their affection for fictional characters has provided a space in which one can essentially ‘practice’ their love for what is considered fictional or ‘unreal’. While this notion may seem absurd to many, it has been prevalent enough to attract serious academic attention. And why would it not? The questions this issue engenders provide us with a significant opportunity to re-examine our relationship with media in the 21st century. Furthermore, the issue forces us to take a look at how we internalize fiction and the impact it has on the perception of our daily lives.

In order to enable a discussion on this issue, we need to rethink a number of ideas, including our relationships with both fiction and media. Firstly, what kind of impact does fiction have on our psyche and imagination? Can fiction colour our perceptions of reality? And if so, what are the implications for the idea of a division between what is real and fictive, if we all perceive the world through different perceptions, or in other words, our personal fictions? There are also the examples provided to us by the practice and belief in collective fictions (i.e. religions) which also provide important questions. What significance does it mean to act upon one’s personal fiction and practice it in the realm of reality? What if this practice is wide spread and collectively acted upon? Are fiction and reality not only existing within one realm, but also being accepted as such? Furthermore, what role does the media have to play in all of this, especially in regards to anime and manga? Both mediums have a long documented history of actively constructing characters in order in order to engender an emotional response from the viewer. The best example of this would be the moé phenomenon which has been prevalent in both mediums in the past decade. Can ‘real’ emotions which originate from a fictional space be considered any less valid? And if not, does this not confirm a possibility of affection for a characters within a fictional realm?

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