Month: September 2008

Gintoki, Ginpachi, Gintama

Posted by Ryan A - September 15, 08

chibis

Some time ago, I posted about watching Gintama, and supposedly I posted about my weekly 3-day spans away from home (at school inland), but the point is these things mix well.

So what is it about Gintama? Compared to Keroro, I’d say the comedy isn’t as LOL, but more like OMGSMILE. I find it similar to black comedy in a sense. There isn’t much substance, but it feels good, and I understand why it is in SJ, but am confused about it at the same time. My initial impressions have held pretty well, and the series has filled nicely into the mold.

Ahem, so these mid-week spans inland aren’t very “season friendly” since my notebook is the only box I have, and most everything is not on it, but it’s great to have some Gintama and Keroro episodes to tag along. Usually, I wake up in the morning, watch a Saved By The Bell rerun, check the email, etc. and then throw on a couple episodes of Gintama. Totally lightens the day, and it’s not like there’s a definite plot to follow; episodic, comedy, and gold.

It keeps the punches rolling. Leisurely experiencing Gintama is definitely keeping me in the anime vibe and away from getting jaded. I don’t really care that I’m 80 episodes behind; I’m strolling, not burning, and I love it. Definitely a righteous little cure for burn-out/downtime/whatever.

Reflections @ melative

At the Core :: Gundam 00

Posted by Ryan A - September 14, 08

Yes, I am truly over-amping G00, but I think this will be my last post on it [and relations to Code Geass].

In short, I think the reasoning I find G00 stronger than Geass comes from the production core, specifically Hajime YATATE (Sunrise collective* responsible for Cowboy Bebop, 1999), Seiji MIZUSHIMA (director, Full Metal Alchemist, 2003),and Yousuke KURODA (screenwriter, Honey and Clover, 2005). Which, I hadn’t looked up but makes sense when I look at the points where G00 wins over Geass. Also, glancing at the associated* works, there is no sign of Code Geass.

Sure G00 has less than Geass characterization, but it’s not horrible, and really is brought up a bit by 00’s strong attributes.

*edit: thank you wanderer.

Reaching Out For the World

Posted by Ryan A - September 13, 08

the world

Today Yesterday, I was pondering this whole seasonal thing, and I found another idea funny, but assuring, in my own sense of self.

I’m finishing this post because it was interrupted by the G00 entry last night, and Jeff’s most recent update made me ponder seasonal affairs, and why so many take to that path.

Plain

Perhaps the most obvious reason for seasonal watching is because it it is current, airing now, and in progress (it isn’t in the past). With this comes a few notions about seasonal viewers 1- seasonal titles are the only thing they haven’t experience (least likely) 2- it’s paced and organized, one episode per series per week allows decent scheduling.

These are not the interesting ideas about seasonal viewing, it gets better with the social perspective.

Social

Pondering seasonal viewing from a social aspect, I came upon two natural stimuli, competition and affiliation (belonging). Especially in the otakuken, these concepts hold pretty well, but why does it work? Simply, everyone has the ability to look at the same things in relatively the same span of time. This has transformed the quantity of an episode into a sharable event.

An episode contains something in the moment and often draws reflection, but generally it is information, and retains power. Thus we have:

  • Competition: who has the most information, the best handle?
  • Affiliation: synchronous communication and mutual expression by viewers

Isn’t it humanly interesting? I’m not strong on seasonal viewing, but with this aspect, I feel it is innate, human, and the sign of something healthy. Ne?

Now, I don’t plan to change my habits of nonchalant seasonal adventures, but I’d be lying if I denied the slight desire to view seasonal series and interact with others viewing the same series (I do on some level). It’s quite natural… grasp it and love it, I am human.

Finally Gundam 00

Posted by Ryan A - September 13, 08

Marina

Yes, I managed to finish this super-solid first season in light of the coming sequal. Why the hell didn’t I finish it until now? Not sure, but, I’m glad to be amped for next month.

Most of my Gundam 00 episodic impressions can be found at melative, but I will say this about Gundam 00: It surpasses Code Geass by a big margin. Which sort of redeems the Sunrise in my eyes, after R2… but doesn’t G00 predate R2 O.o

My real beef is that, Code Geass S1 was quite a good series, and ended decently, but G00 had a much better first season than Geass. Now, if Sunrise decided to take to R2 form with this second season of G00, I will be _______. Right!

Simply, here are some points G00 has over Geass, which Sunrise could totally FFFF:

  • Composure (G00 was well-oiled, Geass was shredded tranny)
  • Beauty (Space-Beautiful vs ugly persona, or die)
  • Resolve (G00 has a handle to grasp, Geass is excite bike on acid)
  • Identification (I can feel for members of Celestial Being, Geass everyone has un-human decision-making skills)
  • Meaning (Eradicate war vs the world as a chess board)
  • Justification (sound flow to Geass’s inverse variant of logic)
  • Romance (mine as well, even if it is faint… Setsuna and Marina have a deeper relationship than everyone in Geass except Lulu X Suzaku)

Har Har. Whether I exaggerate or not, I still believe Gundam 00 has more wholesome attributes than Geass, and by far a more invigorating watch, without the eyerolls and doggie bag.

Sounds of Consumption

Posted by Ryan A - September 6, 08

play

Omo wrote a very interesting entry, quite stimulating. In my path of anime, I went from fan to consumer and slowly getting back to the fanatic roots, specifically, savoring the media. What changed me to being a consumer? Plain and simple, it was seasonal viewing. Sensible notion right?

Now I’m not sure where this aspect lies with fandom, but perhaps there is a variance among fans who consume and fans who savor. I would say they are both valid forms of fandom, and I wonder if creators have a preferable type? An answer doesn’t fall one way or the other, and should not have anything to do with money [though likely]. Surely, I do not love the version of myself which consumes endlessly; gluttony is not becoming.

Omo makes a great statement about HD video, 5.1 audio, and 101% attention enhancing the experience. I do believe production quality enhances experience, but attention and cadence are more integral, and in a savoring manner, they will also enhance the quality of an experience.

Episodic Task List

Part of the trouble with trying to savor media is the stepping task list associated with episodes, chapters, volumes, seasons, etc. It should not be become a task list, as viewing should not be a task. Tasks are usually less appreciated then say fulfilling wishes. I had this verbal trouble when I created melative Wish and called items wishes, when objectively it is a task list. I didn’t want it to be a task list, because it leads to a consuming state of mind, where we shift objective from the experience to the check mark. Let me give a related scenario.

Casablanca and two viewers

Viewer 1 watches Casablanca to see what the fuss is about, but pays no mind to it after The End.
Viewer 2 experience the film, and falls innocently in love with the presentation; it is appreciated, and looked upon.
Viewer 1 watched Casablanca while doing sudoku and chatting with friends.
Viewer 2 experienced the film in one-sitting silence, on a simple, breezy afternoon.
Viewer 1 moves onto something new.
Viewer 2 is inspired, learns more of the film, its cast, and production.

By the time Viewer 2 has experience one of AFI’s 100 Greatest lists, Viewer 1 is back to blockbusters and out of ammo. Viewer 2 is like the sniper, and Viewer 1 is the frontline machine-gunner. Yes, Viewer 2 is similar to Akari and Mizunashi-mode, but this savoring attitude has yielded a greater experience in the same about of time on the same title as Viewer 1. I’m not implying sniper’s are beautiful, but slightly more rich in existence.

Necessity and Judgement

Is that experience really necessary? No, absolutely not, personally, I know plenty of anime series that wouldn’t change my experience if savored or not. Some series are better unsavored (ie R2, Ninomiya-kun), hell. It comes down to judgment of when to savor a series, and when to gorge consume. May be it doesn’t matter in this media rich period, but I will still acknowledge the fact that brilliant experiences are more rare than some may believe.

Bring back the single-tasking media!

self-note: wut about marathons? Yes, marathons are more savory than not.

The Music and Me

Posted by Ryan A - September 3, 08

le mellow_bunny posted a nice inquisition about wanting for good music in anime, which reminded me of some past AMV’s. Dunno why it rings with me, but the band A.F.I., who I don’t particularly listen to, was mixed with Crest of the Stars (Sekai no Monshou, one of my favorites, Lafiel <3<3), on a track Morningstar. Here’s the vid. I just find something sweet and cadent about it; reminiscent.

Sadly, I could not find a streaming copy of the other video, of which I was originally I was reminded. It was another song by A.F.I (Death of the Seasons), tuned to Evangelion. Sweet and actiony.

I’m not really an A.F.I. fan, but I enjoy these songs for their relations to the series. I find they fit quite well, and that makes them a little better in my eyes.

Chrome, In light

Posted by Ryan A - September 3, 08

So Mike and NovaJinx have taken a stand against Google’s new browser Chrome; which I think was aptly named after what Mozilla coders call running XUL apps. From my perspective, and that of a CNET analyst I heard on Marketplace, Chrome is a chess move, and an aggressive one.

Chrome is not going to gain large market share of browserdom, but it is going to force Mozilla and Microsoft to develop some new kicks; innovation. It’s going force browsers to provide a rich web-application environment, and this, in turn, will only help Google (since they’ve been going hard at web-app development for years now). In short, Chrome is necessary to stimulate the browser world.

Now about the EULA, clause 11 looks terrible, yes, but I cannot fully agree that it was interpreted properly. The statement is disclosed with regard to Services, and Chrome is all but a service; it provides access, but it is not a service. In fact, the first comment over at SlashDot, states what I was thinking when I read Mike’s post… that is the Original TOS for Apps, and it does in fact apply to Google’s services (Video, Photo, Mail, Notebooks, Documents, Calendar, etc). Until it is made clear by Google, I’m not falling either way, but there is always Chromium, which has no such things (due to open-source license).

That said, I really have no intention of replacing Firefox, that’d be crazy. I don’t plan on using Chrome in the future either, as all my systems are linux-flavored atm. Still, I like Google’s move, and I like even more their reimplemented ECMA (javascript) engine V8.

Mozilla SQUEEZE….