Gen X Otaku 1971: the OG blog

Save the Last Dance for Me: Finishing Tutu

Finished the 6th and final volume of Princess Tutu (2004):

Princess Tutu, Vol. 6: Abschied

Abschied is German for taking one's leave, parting.  There's definitely a deep vein of German Romanticism that runs through Princess Tutu from start to finish.  On this volume especially do NOT miss the DVD extras...voice actor commentary from Luci Christian (Tutu) and Chris Patton (Fakir), voice commentary from the English ADV technical staff, a final etude from Mister Cat, and best of all, the In The Studio segment featuring the actors and actresses, including Jay Hickman, the voice of Mytho, Jessica Boone, the voice of Rue.  Also featured is the narrator of the intro segments.  And lastly, we get to watch Luci voice the most dramatic moments of the closing of the show and watch her powerful, genuine emotional responses that she then is able to pour into the character.  Jessica Boone also tears up a little at the ending.  Luci admits in her voice commentary that this show has a very near and dear place in her heart.  Patton reveals that recording it took nearly a full year of dedicated work.

Princess Tutu for all its seeming simplicity, is actually a show with a great deal of philosophical depth, and set to some of the finest pieces of classical music in the Western canon.  If you watch and listen to all of the Etudes by Mister Cat in the DVD extras, you'll have a really good primer on classical Ballet and the music that was written for it.

On the surface, it's a simple children's story, but there's so much more going on in this series.

I won't give away the ending, but it is emotionally satisfying, if twinged with a little sadness, but it leaves room for hope in the viewer's imagination, if you pay attention to the closing words.  When Luci watches it on camera her response is visceral.  She watches it, looks at the camera, toward the director's booth...Tears flow freely, she opens her mouth then covers it with her hand.  "This show is so GOOD!" she exclaims at one point.

A beautiful story for children and adults alike.

Princess Tutu and Postmodernism

Finished watching Volume 5: Schwert und Feder of the Princess Tutu series...

Princess Tutu, Vol. 5 - Schwert und Feder

In this volume, the Princess Tutu series takes a Postmodern/Linguistic turn, of sorts; At least insofar as it begins to delve into questions of authorship, as the characters begin to rebel against their assigned roles and think for themselves.  The line between fantasy and reality blurs...can the power of authorship really change the world?

These questions are also explored, albeit more light-heartedly, in a recent Disney film I finally got around to watching, namely Adam Sandler's Bedtime Stories:

Bedtime Stories

The crux of this story is that Adam Sandler, aka Uncle Skeeter, tells his niece and nephew bedtime stories while he babysits them for his older sister.  Only he's not very good at it.  The kids know all about stories so they help him finish the stories.  Strangely, the kid's stories seem to come true in real life for Skeeter.  Seem being the operative word, since everything that happens is actually coincidence and has a rational explanation.  But the stories within Bedtime Stories is about something bigger than that, it's about the power of dreams, and the power of realizing one's dreams, and of believing in oneself, and the power of myth and the power of archetypes to move us to action. 

Back to Princess Tutu, it is revealed that Fakir once wrote stories as a boy that sometimes came true.  Not only that, it is revealed that he is actually a direct blood relative of the famous storyteller Drosselmeyer, who is at the heart of this story as well, though believed long dead and buried.  Fakir is hesitant at first but Duck urges him to use his gift to help Mytho.  Duck has a dream of the story happily resolved, of Rue being just Rue, Mytho restored, Fakir safe...and Duck goes back to being a duck...which leaves her filled with a sense of regret and sadness.  She awakens, still a girl, and realizes it was only a dream, but a dream whose ending she actually didn't like all that much.

There remains discord between Mytho and Rue/Kraehe.  Mytho doesn't like her much either...he has become vain, arrogant, jealous and demanding.  When Rue hesitates to take his hand, he reacts violently to her.  Rue runs off in tears.  Duck shows compassion to Rue, says that Rue is still Rue...but she transforms into Kraehe and flees.  But we do see that Duck's words do have an impact on Rue.  Feeling weak, Rue stumbles and falls in the street.  She is found by a music student who earlier had revealed to Fakir his family link to Drosselmeyer.  The music student is smitten by Rue, and she toys with him, considers sacrificing him to her monstrous father, then spares him, tells him to go home and leave her, which he does with reluctance, hurt by Rue's rejection of him, unaware of her act of mercy.

Mytho continues to be tormented by the Raven's blood, seeking a cure.

In a surprising finale, Princess Tutu saves Fakir from having his hands cut off by the Bookmen, only to be captured and literally yanked out of the story by Drosselmeyer himself!

I look forward to Volume 6.

Welcome to the N.H.K. -- or "autism in modern Japan"

I have recently come to the realization that I may be affected by what is known as Asperger's syndrome, which is a very mild form of autism.  This realization has made clearer why I was so drawn and attracted to this series last fall:

Welcome to the NHK: Complete Series Box Set

Welcome to the NHK is a journey mostly inside the head of Tokyo resident and recent college dropout Tatsuhiro Satō (佐藤 達広 Satō Tatsuhiro^?), who is a  Japanese Hikikomori or "recluse".  Although his case is more exaggerated and extreme, I found I could relate to his manic inner monologues throughout the series...they sometimes  touched uncomfortably close to home.

The Hikikomori phenomenon is thought by some to be the social expression of autism disorder in Japan.  In Japanese society, where so much emphasis is placed on social skills, conformity, and proper etiquette and social graces, this proves too overwhelming to autistic Japanese, who often withdraw completely from society and often their only connection to the outside world is through online games and the like.  Many cannot even hold jobs, and many never leave their parents' homes.  Sato does eventually find work when his parents cut off his allowance and he has no choice but to work or starve, but that resolution doesn't come until the end of the series.

Sato is helped by a curious teen girl named Misaki Nakahara (中原 岬 Nakahara Misaki^?).

She claims to be a charity worker and able to help him, but her attempts at Psychoanalysis are sophomoric at best.  Still, Sato plays along for awhile.  She's cute and takes an interest in him, so he figures "why not".

The series was hard to watch at times, dealing with some heavy themes and Sato's own inner demons and emotional instabilities.  You realize that Misaki is just as messed up as Sato, and that she loves him.  I definitely cheered for them...but I also enjoyed the flashbacks with Sato and his schoolmate Senpai, Hitomi Kashiwa (柏 瞳 Kashiwa Hitomi)^?).  Hitomi has a boyfriend, but she seems profoundly unhappy and sometimes seems flirtatious towards Sato, who misreads her.  Hitomi is at times an even more paranoid conspiracy theorist than Sato.

Sato also gets by with a little help from his friend and neighbor, Kaoru Yamazaki (山崎 薫 Yamazaki Kaoru^?), a former schoolmate one year behind him, whom Sato once saved from being beaten up (only to be severely beaten himself as a consequence).  They become friends, but often get frustrated with each other.  Yamazaki is even more jaded and misogynistic than Sato.  Together they create a not-half-bad dating simulation demo game for the big comic fest in Japan.  But they struggle to do the follow through for the final version.  Sato can't help but think of Misaki in dreaming up characters for the game, and in visualizing the happy ending for the game, he imagines a happy future with Misaki.

The more reading I have done online, I read a post by an autistic girl who stated she really likes Japanese anime in part because of their exaggerated facial expressions that are easier for her to read.  She's probably definitely on to something.  Indeed, Anime and Manga seem very popular among many people on the autism spectrum, from Asperger's syndrome to those further along the spectrum.  I know I have been deeply moved by Anime characters in the past, and that's part of why I blog about them here.  Unlike real people, Anime characters are easy to understand and relate to and sympathize with.  Realizing that I myself may be somewhere on the spectrum, probably in the mild AS area helps me understand why I was so drawn to this series, why it spoke to me like it did.  It's because much as I was loathe to admit it, I did have a lot more in common with Sato than I cared to admit aloud.

You're Under Arrest: The Movie

Finally got around to watching the feature length movie based on the Anime series You're Under Arrest:

You're Under Arrest - The Motion Picture

Bandai and ADV Films share credits with the English dub of this feature film, but the original voice actors from the series have been retained for the English dub as well.  Since it's a feature length movie, the animation quality is higher,  especially the way the characters are drawn, and there are less "cartoony" interludes with exaggerated versions of the characters...the movie overall is more straight up realism, albeit with an edge of comic absurdity.  The story is edgier and grittier, but minimal bloodshed ensues.  Natsumi is still the borderline alcoholic who reports to work with a severe hangover.  Miyuki is still beautiful and brilliant, though her prowess as a mechanic is underplayed in the film.  There are no jokes or embarrassing situations surrounding Aoi Futaba.  If you didn't know "she" was a transvestite from the series, you wouldn't know that by watching this movie.  Yoriko is just as gossipy and whiny as ever.  Some of the plot of this film doesn't seem well thought out and some of it seems pretty unrealistic...like assaulting a police station to capture a secret plan for world domination...something you'd expect a computer hacker to do and not a gaggle of terrorists toting submachine guns against near defenseless Japanese traffic cops.  Japan is not a gun culture, and only the senior plainclothes investigators are ever shown toting actual firearms.  The traffic cops have billy clubs and rely on their martial arts skills and their vehicles.  Even the motorcycle cops don't carry arms.  Ken Nakajima is in the movie and gets to jump on some jet skis once, and he still has a thing for Miyuki that everyone knows about but he can't seem to act on, and Miyuki is unsure of her feelings for Ken.  Natsumi has a long distance boyfriend who finally returns to Tokyo during the movie...she's happy to see him, but the ensuing crisis at the heart of this movie keeps them kind of apart until the last few scenes.

 

I recently finished Disc 7-8 of the original series (season one), and it strikes me that Aoi Futaba really is more comfortable with being a woman.  She seems to like attracting the attention of men, doesn't seem interested in women sexually.  It also seems to cause her a great deal of emotional pain when a man wants to go out with her and she has to reveal that biologically she's a he.  I found myself talking to my tv screen saying "girl, just get the operation already and become the woman you are in your heart.";  It's been a kind of running gag throughout the series, but so far they haven't provided any emotional resolution for Aoi, and she does seem to suffer.  

 

Natsumi can be kind of butch, but one of the assistant police inspectors in this film, a supporting character I've not seen in the original series so far, is far butchier; and we know Natsumi had kind of a crush on the Chief, plus in the movie she has her long-distance boyfriend.  Good for her, since in the series, Natsumi's loneliness becomes an ongoing theme and partly what drives her frustration with her partner Miyuki's hesitancy with Ken Nakajima.  For Natsumi, she's like "well, at least you HAVE someone, even if you're both too chicken to act on your feelings."

 

Makes me think of the teacher in Lucky Star, who enjoys playing Online games as much as Konata, in part because she doesn't have a boyfriend and not much of a social life.

 

The brash and spunky Natsumi is probably my favorite character of the whole series...flawed but funny, strong but sensitive and lonely.  In the finale of this movie she ends up in the arms of her boyfriend as she gets throw from the wreckage of a crashing helicopter.  She's the outrageous one to Miyuki's "straight man" routine.  Practically a requirement for any "buddy cop" series.

Finished Vol.26 of Bleach

Finished the final volume of Season 3 of Bleach: The Bount;

Bleach, Vol. 26

Volume 26 includes up to Episode 109 and represents the conclusion of The Bount narrative; It is heavily action packed from start to finish.  It also manages to write Rukia and Kon back into the script, but only in loosely supporting roles.

Ichigo emerges victorious and returns to the World of the Living.  Rukia gets a new Zanpakto and is re-assigned back to the World of the Living for a one month stint, back in Ichigo's old neighborhood, and probably destined to live in his closet again.  There may yet be an impending love triangle between Rukia, Renji, and Ichigo.  I do get the feeling Rukia does love Ichigo, but it remains subdued throughout the series.  They do fight a lot, but you can't say they don't arouse each other's passions, either.  Renji and Rukia are childhood friends, which is always a formula for adult love in Japanese anime.  Moreover, Ichigo, despite having saved the Soul Society from utter destruction more than once, is still only a substitute Soul Reaper and it seems will never be fully accepted as an equal by other Soul Reapers socially, however much individual members may develop strong bonds of friendship with Ichigo and his friends.  Only Rukia truly accepts him, because she feels responsible for his fate, since it was she who loaned him her powers in a moment of desperation. 

Rantao and Youruichi manage to save one of the Bounts, the one with the steel orbed doll, Dalk, who had begun to oppose Kariya in the end...they do this covertly, without the official knowledge of the Soul Society.  Rantao because she is still a rebel, and Youruichi because she's an intelligence operative, and because she feels the Soul Society owes it to the last surviving Bount.  Moreover, Rantao feels personal responsibility for the Bounts.  The Soul Society only reluctantly accepts responsibility for the Bounts, after the fact, once the danger is past.

Ichigo does some soul searching of his own before leaving the Seiretei once again.  Rukia follows shortly after once her healing is farther along.  Volume 27 is already being advertised on Amazon, so I will look for it on Netflix next.  There's already a preview for the next episode (110) at the end of Episode 109, and a comical Radio Kon special.

Doldrums...in between Netflix shipments.

I'm currently between Netflix shipments; I hate it when this happens on a weekend.  On the upside, I will be getting Volume 26 of Bleach (Season 3) on Monday, hopefully, and it's awesome that it's out now and available.  In fact it already shipped, but since there's no mail on Sundays, I won't see it until tomorrow evening.  I also enjoyed Volume 3 of You're Under Arrest! recently.  Yesterday I had the opening theme song stuck in my head all day.  I think I'm going to go ahead and rent You're Under Arrest: The Movie because the animation looks better, the story looks grittier, and I'm already familiar with the characters and their motivations.  I don't think I'll be at a loss if I watch the movie before finishing out Season 1.  I want to see Season 2 as well.  I don't know where in the storyline the Movie takes place...end of Season 1 or end of Season 2.  Guess I'll find out.

Volume 3 had some really nice stories:

You're Under Arrest, Disc 03

I especially liked the opener, "Love Triangle"; no it's not a continuation from Vol.2 (where it was a misunderstanding between the two policewomen characters, Miyuki and Natsumi), but an original story with a "Gift of the Magi" style twist, sort of.  The crimes that Miyuki and Natsumi battle grow more serious in this volume...including busting a pair of pornographers trying to lure and exploit under-aged teen girls.  The story revolves around a very hyper Japanese teenager who decides impulsively that she wants to join the police force (after giving up on her earlier idea of becoming a temple priestess).  Natsumi tries to talk her out of it, while Miyuki is more encouraging.  The girl ends up helping the officers make the aforementioned bust, but not without putting herself at considerable risk.

I've seen the trailer for You're Under Arrest: The Movie and from the look of it, the police are involved in cracking a terrorist plot. It also looks like the chief gets wrongfully arrested, too.

Unfortunately, I can't find the opening song that I like anywhere on YouTube; there are other openers for this series that are on YouTube, but not the one I had stuck in my head the past few days.  It's a very soulful song, at least the initial part and the ending...the middle part gets a little too chipper/happy for my taste, but it finishes with a nice, almost Hill Street Blues-y taste.

Tonight after the Rockets game I will probably dig out the next volume of His and Her Circumstances and watch it, touch base with Yukino and Arima, who are enduring a long-distance relationship for summer.

Finished Disc 1 of You Are Under Arrest!

Went back and caught Vol.1 of You Are Under Arrest, where the main characters first meet and the main cast members are introduced:

You're Under Arrest, Disc 01

The main pair are Miyuki Kobayakawa (小早川 美幸 Kobayakawa Miyuki^?) and her rascally new partner, the tomboyish and vaguely butch Natsumi Tsujimoto (辻本 夏実 Tsujimoto Natsumi^?).  For her her first day on the job, Natsumi Tsujimoto (辻本 夏実 Tsujimoto Natsumi^?) is late!  She's on a personal motor scooter and takes a rather--unconventional route to work.  She's spotted by Miyuki Kobayakawa (小早川 美幸 Kobayakawa Miyuki^?) who gives chase and issues her a citation, but is lenient because Natsumi saved a kitten's life.  Natsumi doesn't understand how Miyuki knows so much about her already, but it's because Miyuki has already read Natsumi's personnel file, knows they are going to be partners, and already knows her face.

If you only watched Disc 1, you'd assume that the Tokyo police spend most of their day battling reckless drivers on the highways in and around Tokyo.  In Disc 2 they do expand into combating some petty crime, like the vigilantism of The Strike Man, who engages in illegal assault & battery while dispensing his personal brand of "justice".

There's also a love triangle in the final episode of this volume, mainly a misunderstanding involving the macho motorcycle patrolman Ken Nakajima (中嶋剣 Nakajima Ken^?), who, it turns out, really is just a big pussycat behind his gruff exterior.  It seems Ken harbors a secret crush on Miyuki.  She's not completely disinterested, but until Ken works up the guts to actually ask her out, she's not going to encourage anything either.  Natsumi gets drunk and accidentally spends an evening overnight with Ken; they don't do anything but rumors fly when they are spotted riding motorcycles back together into town in the early morning hours.  Natsumi has no interest in Ken and was in fact trying to help set him up with her partner Miyuki. 

Since Japan is not a gun culture, even many of these police officers don't carry weapons during their day to day patrols.  They do practice marksmanship and judo, but it seems they are only issued weapons in response to special incidents.  Of all the officers, tomboy Natsumi seems most at home with firearms.

This is an older title, but I do rather enjoy it, and look forward to future episodes with these characters, and the feature film.