Anime

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Thu May 07, 2009 11:06 pm

OK I am trying to pick which of the opening so of Sayanara Zetsubou sensei to use in the panel I am doing for AN. I wanted to approach the panel from an introductory perspective.

Which one works best?

Video 1

or

Video 2

or both? Which one is more newbie friendly? (BTW I have the translations of all the jokes in the second vid. All the Japanese word in the background are actually dialogue for jokes.) Any Advice would be useful. I have to send these in, in a couple of days.

Post by **MithLuin** » Sat May 09, 2009 5:50 pm

*is a newbie*

First one seemed to be about...death and life? Sex, bondage, suicide and pregnancy. Other than that...the characters were just running around, so I didn't get anything else out of their interactions. The weird blanked out faces caught my attention as well.

Second one has an English translation of the lyrics

and seems to introduce the characters more clearly. I get very little concept of what the story is about from this one - it's less 'weird' but also less intriguing. More just a montage - though the jokes might help. The series seems much more lighthearted from this one - the first one would make me suspect it is very dark.

So, since I don't know anything about the show or your panel, I don't know which is better, but hopefully the feedback is helpful.

I finished Gurren Lagann. I will say that, overall, the story got better (not worse). There were a few traps I thought they would fall into that they didn't, and a few interesting twists. If it was longer than 27 episodes, I probably wouldn't have stuck with it, but for what it was, I thought it was good enough. Still not really my cup of tea, and I can't say I *like* the ending...I more found it...acceptable. It could have been much worse. I won't say anything more so as not to be too spoilery.

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Sun May 10, 2009 4:25 am

Ah, well for the versions of the vids I sent, video one has a translation, of the lyrics. Reading them, the opening makes a little bit more sense. (There is an actual diologue between the students the teacher and the "pregnant" girl at the end)

Vid 1 with translated lyrics

If it's any help Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (So Long, Mr. Despair) is black satirical comedy which is slightly modeled after Azumanga Daioh. So far no one gets pregnant (considering it's a teacher with teenage girls I think that would be going to far). The whole pregnancy thing is symbolic actually. The bondage I don't get it either since the teacher (the main character), does not perv after the girls at all. But the "pregnant" girl is the most positive girl in the world in contrast to him being the most negative person in the world. (Them meeting is how the story starts).

Your first impressions are very helpful and helped me figure on on where to guide the panel. (I am sticking with translated lyrics)

I figured vid 2 would introduce the characters better, and I really don't want to traumatize anyone as the show is really offbeat if a person is not used to it. I think I will use vid 2 and see what the rest of the panelists think. (When I first saw the show myself I almost left the room).

I guess the best way to explain the series is it's a lighthearted comedy about very dark subjects. The main character is a depressed teacher who is always trying to kill himself. But they make it funny. Like early on when certain characters try to stop him from committing suicide they end up putting him more danger then he initially was in. Then he gets mad and yells: "What if I died?"

It's just the way they do it makes it so funny. The jokes in the background of vid 2 are pure randomness. The anime flashes jokes by a lot to force people to rewind and pause all the time. In the second opening there is a joke about Micheal Jackson (somewhere) and whole bunch of other stuff. This can only be found through constant pausing and rewinding. It's actually sort of fun if you catch it without looking for it.

The teacher is called Mr. Despair (Zetsubou Sensei) because when his name is written horizontally it spells "despair". Also he is always depressed and something constantly puts him in despair. This is one of the obvious name puns in the series. All the characters names are a pun on their personality. It sort of takes off from Azumanga Daioh as when a person watched that classic anime people would describe the characters by their character traits rather then their names. Like: The spaced out girl, the cute mini genius, the aloof idol girl, the over competitive girl, etc... The teacher's catch phrase is always about something putting him in despair and they do like 3 or 4 trademark camera shots as he exclaims (for example), that the transit ticket system has left him in despair (Zetsubou shitta!! I am in despair!!!)

The super positive girl (the "pregnant " one), goes by a pen name (derived from Franz Kafka) and people suspect her real name is derived from Anne of Green Gables (as Anne was quite positive. The Japanese love Anne of Green Gables for some reason)

Is any of this helping explain things? I am hoping to say some of the things in the panel and I hope I am explaining things clearly.

(Sorry if the word filter catches one of the Japanese words, I am not trying to swear, honest!!)

I may try to catch some Gurren Laggann tonight, as I haven't watched any anime since I moved.

Post by **MithLuin** » Sun May 10, 2009 2:51 pm

Yes, considering the light in the belly, I thought the 'pregnancy' might be symbolic of something else. But I agree that showing the first opening video would probably scare some people off unnecessarily

. Better to start with the 2nd one, have a discussion about the show, and then maybe at the end use the other video, once people are...forewarned.

Dark comedy can be very funny, but it sounds like the show is not nearly as dark as vid 1 would indicate.

You had mentioned upthread that it is full of inside jokes, so I agree that explaining some of them (such as the meaning of the names) would be a good idea for your panel. Kinda treat it as an 'intro to...' so that people without the background can still enjoy it. Jokes are often as difficult to translate as poems, though, so good luck conveying them while keeping them funny!

I hope your move went well.

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Tue May 12, 2009 7:26 am

If there are any lurkers I would really appreciate any input for the Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei vids. I am still working on figuring out what to talk about in the panel.

My primary goal is not to scare people out of the room.

Ah the move. I still have not unpacked. I have been busy ever since I moved in. *sigh*

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Tue May 12, 2009 6:49 pm

Oh my goodness. Anime North is doing Family Feud. They need survey subjects. I filled out the survey and I will proabaly do it again with different answers but I thought people here might want to give it a go.

http://www.surveywasp.com/ws/DS.php?uid=547&sid=1626

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Thu May 21, 2009 10:42 am

Leaving for Anime North in 2 hours. here is hoping I give a report.

Post by **MithLuin** » Thu May 21, 2009 3:03 pm

Have fun! I hope all your panels go well, and I look forward to a report. I filled out a Family Feud survey

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Tue May 26, 2009 4:37 am

I hate IE. I did a whole report and the whole thing disappeared!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111 I will have to do it a few days from now. or put it into many multiple posts.

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Tue May 26, 2009 4:41 am

All in all the con went very well, and all the panels I did were very very well received. The Black kids like anime too panel being the biggest surprise. (the room was packked and people had to sit on the floor!!!!!!)

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 5:14 am

Alright I guess I will report on some of the panels I did. The most interesting panel was the Black kids like Anime too panel. I only joined up because they needed people to fill it to get approved and there was heavy support from the Panel director since he was raised in South Africa.

It was very interesting as each viewpoint was a little different, since people with American backgrounds had different experiences from the people with Caribbean backgrounds and people from Africa were different all together. One American noted that For Black American fans since, he feels they don't feel comfortable with and/or have a defined Black American identity, being an Anime fan is too far out of the box for some and that is why some other people (black or non- Black) think it is strange to like Anime. I explained and so did one of my co-panelists that it's sort of a generational thing in the Caribbean as older people don't get it, and non-Black people have thought it was weird. The African perspective was different as one of my Co-Panelists wants to learn Japanese, yet she hasn't learned her parents language (they are from Nigeria and she went to boarding school there).

We also talked about cosplay and one great cosplayer said she sort felt like she was in a box. I pointed out that if a cosplay is well done it can still work if a person is not light skinned, and I pointed out that some white and Asian people cosplay black characters all the time. We even talked a little bit about Gothic Lolita. It was a really fun panel and there was complimentary cheese and muffins which disappeared fast (Anime North offered to pay for it since the panel director really wanted a good turn out for the panel and advertised the free food.)

We didn't get to talk about how we got the name of the panel but the people we talked to afterwards said we went the correct route as it was the most inclusive term. (There was a good amount of non-black people which is what we wanted!!!). OK that was long, I will post about another panel later.

EDIT:
I should point out that many people pointed out how they don't like constantly being associated with gangstas!!! And I think liking anime just breaks the stereotype too much for some people. Myself and another panelist confessed we don't watch BET.

Is anyone up to date with xxHolic, or Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles (it's so good both series are well getting close to the end) The second last cover for xxxHolic has been released and I have to say it is different from all the other ones.

I have tried watching Black Butler (which is actually quite funny but not for kids), and I am finally watching the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (I am understanding the humour a little bit). Has anyone seen it? I wanted to know which is best chronological order or broadcast order. (ep 1, which is really ep 11 was sooo bad. Especially as a first ep, good thing I knew about the series before that). I liked how the narrator when describing things before he met Haruhi everything was dull and grey looking and then when he meets her, everything is in bright colours. Although I feel really sorry for Asahina-san. Being fanservice bait is no fun and I think I would kick a person into next week if they ever used me like that. *shakes head*

Post by **Hachimitsu** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 5:15 am

D'oh I forgot to ask has anyone seen Eden of the East? I think it is the best new show of this season. It is so well written

Prim (I don't know if read this thread). There are several covers out for xxxHolic and I thought you might want to check out the art. I think there is one more cover and one more colour splash page to go before the series is done. If you are planning on checking out the story you may not want to see the latest cover.

Post by **MithLuin** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 7:11 pm

I'll be at Anime Next this weekend, so hopefully I'll have something to report when I get back. I wish I'd made a new cosplay, but I'll just have Trisha Elric, nothing new.

Post by **MithLuin** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 4:56 am

Back from AnimeNEXT

Short version: Had a blast, watched some Japanese schoolgirl anime, danced with Alucard, and spent more money than I wanted to.

Longer version: Got in late Friday afternoon and met the people I'd be rooming with. Got along with most of them great, and enjoyed having people to hang out with during the weekend. One girl had organized 2 rooms, and most (all?) of the people I was rooming with were Hetalia cosplayers, so I was hanging out with people calling themselves Russia and Prussia and Canada and Germany, etc. Kinda surreal. I don't know anything about the series, so I can't say anything more about it. But one girl was kind enough to bring Winry to hang out with me as Trisha, so we did that, and I also went to the rave (ie, high school dance) with them and had a group to hang out with. I cannot dance, of course, but I pretended to and made a fool of myself. The guy dressed as Alucard and his friends joined our group for a bit and danced with me briefly, so that was fun.

I figured that since I was at an anime convention, I should watch some anime, so I checked out some new series. The one thing they all had in common was that they contained characters attending school in uniform.

I watched some of 'The Melancholy of...' and I would say, forget broadcast order. It makes more sense if you watch them in the order they're supposed to take place in. Otherwise, you have it broken up very randomly. Now, I don't know if that kind of skipping around in time would become significant later or something, but I think it was just confusing. The show was interesting, especially since it played with cliches - she recruits people for the club because she needs a moe girl and a mysterious transfer student, for instance. The narrator is very funny, in a goodnatured, put-upon way. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was different/unusual. There is the idea that she makes the world suit her, and it's strange enough to be quite interesting. But I'm not sure it's something I would stick with. Partly it is just very random, and I don't precisely like her. Maybe she'll get better later, though.

I also watched a few episodes of Lucky Star, and decided it was basically like the conversations I had with friends in high school. (I mean, except for the anime/Japanese references.) And so...it might have been amusing, but kinda pointless - I already went to high school once, and I work in one. So if I watched any more, I'd feel like I were wasting time. Just not my cup of tea. Still, I haven't watched any shojo anime yet, so I figured I should at least try it.

But I did find something I like *a lot* - Code Geass. It has something that Gurren Lagann lacked - realistic consequences. True, the hopefulness of 'believe in yourself and make things happen and trust your friends' is very heartwarming. But the sheer recklessness that they keep getting away with bugs me on a suspension of disbelief level. Lelouche gets away with very little; the intrigue tends to spiral out of his control quite frequently...and it gets darker as the show progresses. There are also a lot of reveals and twists to it, so it is fast paced and very interesting. The characters are designed by CLAMP, so it's pretty to look at, too

And as much as I've always liked the 'rebels fight against an evil oppressive empire' storyline, I *really* like the moral questions raised. This is a world where terrorists are bad guys, so in that sense, it removes the romantic rose-colored glasses. Lelouche has some good intentions, but he's ruled more by pride and personal ambition than his purported motive of love for his sister. So, it remains to be seen if he'll damn himself or if the world he'd create would actually be any better. I like that they don't let him off the hook. He reminds me very much of Ender - a ruthlessly good plotter. Which is just to say...he reminds me of my baby brother, who has excelled at strategy games since preschool and is now majoring in psychology. If I ever wanted to take over the world, I would totally let my brother plan my strategy for me. Of course, he'd probably start with something like, "so, you take a baseball bat and break the guy's arm" - he's not above advocating violence, unfortunately. I am not foreseeing a happy ending to this one at all.

As for the money...my car has decided it doesn't like cons. I should perhaps reconsider taking it to them.

Post by **MithLuin** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:42 pm

So I decided to watch Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. I figured it was a quicker way of moving through the storyline than reading it, so I'd know sooner if I was interested in getting into it.

The first season I liked. It was a pretty straightforward quest story, and pretty warm-hearted, so that just when I'd decided, right, nothing bad is going to happen to these characters, there's an episode where they all...die...sorta. Anyway, I figured that was interesting enough to keep the audience guessing, and I certainly liked Syaoran in an "Elizabeth goes free!" kinda way. (In other words, his one-track mind was endearing more than annoying, just like Will Turner.)

Then I tried the second season, and I got bored. There seemed to be very little advancement. The bad guy not only still didn't have a name or a motive, he still wasn't doing anything but watching. Revealing the identity of the person in stasis was nice and all, but by the end of the series, he's...still in stasis, so who cares? Kurogane's backstory was something, but really that was the only exception to this.

But, since I'd watched all of that, I figured I should at least check out the OVAs. And....Tokyo Revelations completely changed my mind. I think I must be an awful person for liking the story more when all the characters get royally screwed over. But it's a lot more interesting! And stuff starts happening and changing...and... It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Then it's just interesting.

Kamui and Subaru look *just* like Lelouch. It's too funny. It's like, hello, I'm Lelouch and this is my brother Zero. But it also means that Lelouch really was designed to look like a vampire

. [Yes, I realize CLAMP did both series.] Considering that Suzaku is (essentially) an older Syaoran with Sakura's eyes....

So after that, I decided to read the manga starting at chapter 100 through to the epilogue. I liked it, though my mind is still esploded from trying to figure out the time travel/cloning issue. I don't think I've ever seen a time travel paradox explained as "there is no conceivable way this could have happened, but the logic of the universe was broken and it did." I think the turning point (in mood, tone and interest) is the world of Shura/Shara, where they break out of the path set for them and (accidentally) time travel for the first time that they notice. After that, there's Kurogane's backstory at Record and the entire Acid Tokyo bit, followed by Sakura dressed as bondage!gothicLolita (that was actually the first picture of Sakura I ever saw, so her sweet little princess persona was more of a surprise). And then Fai's backstory, which is even more horrible (but a lot more confusing) than Kurogane's. What curses were on him and what he remembered or knew when wasn't entirely clear to me even after they explained.

Oh, and kudos to not revealing the meaning of the title til the very end. (For anyone who didn't know, Chapter 233 was the end of the manga and just recently came out).

I am considering reading XXXholic now, since there's at least one issue I expect to see wrapped up there. And of course, the opportunity for crossover becomes obvious when so many of the people they meet seem to know Yuuko too. I liked only getting it from one side, though, since it would feel like 'cheating' if I knew the rest of the story while following the travelers. Not knowing CLAMP's other series didn't seem a hindrance to understanding the story, though obviously I didn't recognize the crossover characters.

It was fun to read TRC, especially since my intro to anime was listening to conversations at TORc on the costuming thread. Aurelin has a beautiful collection of Fai coats

.

Post by **halplm** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:29 pm

well, I don't know how I never posted in this thread...

Did everyone completely miss Ponyo? It was Miyazaki's latest, and it seemed to me to basically be the characters from My Neighbor Totoro in slightly different roles, and with an emperor magician thrown in

.

I went through a giant robot phase over the summer (although I've still never gotten into the Gundam series). The highlight of the crop I watched was without a doubt Godannar which, if you can get past the absurd amount of fanservice, is actually very funny. A quality parody of the genre if you will.

Another one I haven't seen mentioned here is Outlaw Star, which is still my favorite series. It literally might have every trope ever invented

. It is also theorized that it influenced Joss Whedon's Firefly, as there are many similarities.

Post by **BrianIsSmilingAtYou** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:51 pm

Wilma wrote:Ah, well for the versions of the vids I sent, video one has a translation, of the lyrics. Reading them, the opening makes a little bit more sense. (There is an actual diologue between the students the teacher and the "pregnant" girl at the end)

Vid 1 with translated lyrics

If it's any help Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (So Long, Mr. Despair) is black satirical comedy which is slightly modeled after Azumanga Daioh. So far no one gets pregnant (considering it's a teacher with teenage girls I think that would be going to far). The whole pregnancy thing is symbolic actually. The bondage I don't get it either since the teacher (the main character), does not perv after the girls at all. But the "pregnant" girl is the most positive girl in the world in contrast to him being the most negative person in the world. (Them meeting is how the story starts)

The bondage is symbolic of the personality traps each character finds themselves in, just as the blanked out faces with the names of those types (in Japanese) are; one of the key elements in the series is how each characters name somehow represents them.

Each character is a type, e.g. the teacher is given to despair with no reasonable cause.

Kafuka Fuura, in contrast, is given to hope with no reasonable cause, and this sets her up as the most direct foil for the teacher. (Her name "Kafuka" is a linguistic variation on Kafka, and this is a reflection on the absurdity of her worldview. There is also a connection to Anne of Green Gables, which most Japanese would get, as an anime version of Anne of Green Gables is one of the most famous and popular animes from the 70's, and was an early work on TV of Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, also including Yoshifumi Kondo, who worked with both for years).

Chiri Kitsu is a perfectionist.

Abiru Kobushi is a send up of the "bandaged-girl" moe type that goes back to Rei Ayanami from Evangelion. (Everyone assumes because of her injuries that she is a victim of domestic violence, but the truth is she works at the zoo, and has an irresistible urge to pull animals' tails, often to her own detriment.)

Kiri Komori is an hikikomori (a person who socially isolates themselves, what we would call an extreme agoraphobic).

Matoi Tsunetsuki is a person who becomes extremely obsessed, especially in romantic relationships, such that she ends up becoming a stalker.

etc

Each one is in "bondage" to their personality quirks, and their faces are covered with their names (which state their types).

The use of rope is also tied to the lyrics (bure, bure, bure = twist, twist, twist). Rope is twisted, and is the instrument of their bondage in the symbolic imagery, as their selves are twisted and in bondage.

There's a lot more to it, as the series as a whole is a send up of Japanese society, anime tropes etc as well as a satire of many things in the wider world, including America and other countries.

I do agree that the video is easily misunderstood, unless one realizes the symbolic nature of much of the imagery.

There is much more to the video, with the overlaid text, and other symbols.

One of the most notable features is the use of the 3d stereograms,

These are the things have repeated backgrounds that you stare at, and the image become 3d. There are numerous instances of this in the video, but they go by quickly. You see these most notably with the repeated images of the Buddhas where sensei is seen walking through them, and then with the Buddhas interspersed with the girls. If you look at it to get the stereographic effect you can see the kanji float in the air with sensei, and multiple layers of 3d effect become apparent. You may need a higher quality image in full screen, and you may also need to stop the video to get the full effect.

Here is a link to a high quality version of the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM8ODecbuhA

Click HQ and full screen.

Pause at :29 and stare at the stereogram of the Buddhas. Stop at :34 to see the stereogram of Buddhas with the girl students, whose heads float eerily above the background of Buddhas.

The repeated Buddhas are satirized later with the repeated image of the mangaka's assistant, whose image is used as a repeated joke throughout the series.

BrianIs

AtYou

Post by **yovargas** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:03 pm

halplm wrote:Did everyone completely miss Ponyo? It was Miyazaki's latest, and it seemed to me to basically be the characters from My Neighbor Totoro in slightly different roles, and with an emperor magician thrown in .

Despite my distaste for 99% of anime I've encountered, after Spirited Awawy, I make an exception for Miyazaki's stuff. I saw Ponyo (haven't seen My Neighbor Totoro) but I thought it was insanely adorable and charming despite having a pretty thin, lame story.

Post by **halplm** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:59 am

I just caught the first episode of the newer version of Fullmetal Alchemist. I really enjoyed the first show, and this one started out fairly excellent, so I look forward to continuing it.

Post by **MithLuin** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 5:52 am

Oh, yes, FMA: Brotherhood is good.

It follows the manga storyline very closely, so may seem more abrupt than the first anime. They're up to 31 episodes now, and only one could remotely be labeled filler (27: Interlude Party). That's volume 14 in the manga now (the Ishbal War backstory). You can watch them all here: http://www4.funimation.com/video/?page=video&v=1832

A new one comes out each Thursday - it's great!

The manga is also wrapping up. Very significant things are happening, and chapter 101 is out in scanlations.