WordPres

So I had only started this blog on blogger.com because wordpress was not working back when I was feeling like starting it. I created a mirror blog on wordpress just to see which one did better, and so far I'm liking things over there more than here. So direct your attentions to animedejavu.wordpress.com for future updates. Thank you!

Onegai Teacher (Complete Series)

Onegai Teacher (known more commonly in America as Please Teacher) is one of those weird little animes that does way more than the initial promise would suggest. From the outset the viewer is presented with several improbable occurrences which require the viewer to suspend all kinds of belief:

1) The main character is 18, even though he looks 15, due to a super rare illness.
2) An alien whom he saw land on Earth starts teaching at his school.
3) Said alien moves next door.
4) Upon being found in a compromising situation, the only "logical" solution is for his parents to pass them off as already married... and to then make said marriage happen.

It is a situation that preys upon the same erotic fantasies that pervades online erotic fiction: it touches upon the student/teacher taboo and the older woman/younger man taboo (all the while trying to sidestep any moral issues by calling him 18). It is, honestly, a show that just should not work. Period.

And yet, despite this cheap lit premise, the writers manage to breathe life into the story by making it one of the most realistic portrayals of the ups and downs and absolute awkwardness of a relationship that I have seen. Sure, in most of the world these days you don't get married and then get to know each other (although in the days of arranged marriages it certainly wasn't a foreign concept), but the growing pains don't feel idealized. Kusanagi Kei, the kid, had friends beforehand and he can't just ditch them when the secret marriage takes place. These friends include females, one whom has open interest in Kusanagi Kei, and the Sensei gets jealous. Perhaps what most gives the show a credible air is how they don't just jump into bed with each other. No, they both have to figure out that they love each other and that they want the relationship to work long-term.

In the end, though, this show works beyond the sum of its parts. The creators managed to capture something that can't be quantified and bottled. And that is hardly a bad thing.

Elfen Lied (Complete Series)

Elfen Lied is one of those names that has been floating around in my consciousness for a while, but just recently picked up the slimcase boxset on the cheap on the ebay. And I am really glad I did. Elfen Lied might be one of the greatest things I have ever seen in any media.

The series is twelve episodes long, which works out to be about the perfect length for such a series. It is the gruesome mixture of blood-spurting violence, punctuated nudity, and emotionally charged situations. I found myself, in merely the first several episodes, shaking my head and saying, "Did they really do that?? Oh my god...!" It is the sort of series that that just absolutely shell-shocks the viewer.

It is interesting in how emotionally wrapped up into the series you can get. Everything compliments each other to make the experience all the more engaging. The violence and nudity aren't just gratuitous (well, usually not). They are there to prove a point and really highlight the horrors experience. As such, Elfen Lied's MA rating is a no-brainer.

The music in Elfen Lied is outstanding. From the stirring melody of the opening theme to the subtle orchestration that peppers the episodes, it is all pretty much amazing. They capitalize on this later in the series and pull the theme into the story to great effect. It is refreshing to see a series do such wonderful things with the music.

It is true that Elfen Lied has become not just one of the best animes I have seen, but it also ranks above just about any other movie I have seen or book I have read. (To be fair, there are definitely a few books when I might rank above this as far as raw impact goes... but that doesn't diminish the insane potency this series has.) I highly recommend it to anyone of MA age.

Naruto (The Original Series)

Naruto has been one of the more polarizing animes out there. Not only is it brought to us by the highly maligned Shonen Jump, but Naruto is also one of the biggest offenders of the filler syndrome. Yet at the same time there is a charm to it that is tough for me to deny.

I had no interest in Naruto. It was aways just one of those lame animes that Cartoon Network insisted on showing before Adult Swim. And then (and then!) they did a weekend marathon of every Naruto episode that had been released in the States up to that point. It was also the first saturday I had off work in months and all I had wanted to do was watch TV. Somehow on Friday night I got caught on Cartoon Network with the beginning of Naruto... and never looked back.

I have since seen the entire 220 episode series as a fansub (thank you dattebayo.com), and absolutely love it. Yeah, its flawed. But I love its apporach to characters, good and evil. I am one of those weird people who loves characters much more than plot. In books I am drawn to those where the characters are complex and feel real. Of course, in a show like Naruto they don't feel real in the traditional sense... but they work within their genre. The real strength of Naruto is the way it takes characters and portrays them in a specific way... then it goes into the character's back history to show why they are the way they are. They do this for the protagonists and the antagonists, allowing for a richly textured tapestry.

Unfortunately, this falls into its own cycle of predictability. Too many of the characters Naruto meets have the inital "I hate you!" reaction, until Naruto tearfully proclaims "I grew up just like you..." and goes on to say what changed him. They really do become Oprah moments. Another big flaw in the series is all of the dispensable filler episodes. Now, I enjoy the filler episodes more than most (refer back to my declaration of enjoying characters more than plot)... but they do tend to drag until the final story arc of the series. Yet I still love it.

Naruto continues after the original series in an series called Shippuuden, which is still going on. But that (and the various movies) are a different post for a different day. To wrap up this post I just want to say that the criticisms against Naruto are usually justified. But there is something about the show that transcends those flaws, ready for those who wish to enjoy.

Obligatory First Post

Well, blogs are a dime a dozen these days... or cheaper, considering we can start these things for free. I was going to start this thing over at wordpress (and I may switch over later), but the site is currently down for some reason, and I'm too antsy to wait until tomorrow. But this shouldn't be too bad... I mean, hells' bells, it is affiliated with Google... and while I prefer the ask.com search engine, when it comes to email, and image searches, Google is where it is at.

Anyway, I have become a big anime fan lately, and when I like something I like to write about it. Thus this blog--agree with me or not, I don't care. But this blog will be my outlet for anything anime that I wish to say. A lot of series and movie reviews and such. I've watched quite a few lately, and opinions abound in my brain. So enjoy or don't. If you don't, feel free to comment. (If you do, comment also... one shouldn't be doomed to only criticism, right?)