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Finished "Kino's Journey" last night. What a gem this series turned out to be - I can't even describe how impressed I am. Each episode is it's own little universe of thoughtful, melancholy commentary on the human condition, while also providing a just-plain good story, memorable characters, and little splashes of wry humor that hit harder just because they're so unexpected.
I love the sepia-tinted visuals. I love the theme song. I love the dry cameraderie between Kino & Hermes and Kino's sometimes morally ambiguous adherence to the Traveler's Credo of observing vs. getting involved...(which then makes the few times Kino is forced to get involved all the more impactful.) I love how each episode stirs up the narrative style a little - some episodes dealing with just one particular city, others tying together smaller vignettes, sometimes telling stories in flashback, other times not, changing up the pov, etc. etc.
This series is going to be forever on my short-list of titles that I consider required viewing for otaku and non-otaku alike...one of those titles that I bring up to showcase how artful and moving anime can be, and yet the person I'm talking to will never actually watch it, so my point will be missed. (Not that this happens to me often or anything. :P )
In other anime viewing, Jon and I are currently in the midst of several series. GreenCine can't keep 'em coming fast enough:
Boys Over Flowers: The pinnacle of shojo high-school drama. Unlike other series, this one manages to keep it's story going for 6+ volumes while focusing on only ONE main love triangle. I'm amazed at the twists and turns that keep our heroine endlessly torn between her two potential guys...both of whom are so flawed and realisticly conflicted that the suspense about who she's "fated" to end up with holds up well into the series. For the shojo newbie, this series will probably seem a bit soapy and over-the-top, but I can't get enough.
Marmalade Boy: I've seen this before, but a long time ago, so rewatching it recently has been a great reminder of another fun shojo series - this one a bit more lighthearted than Boys Over Flowers. The main love interest, Yuu, is one of those classic "acts like an ass, but is really a sensitive soul who needs a big hug" that shojo does so well.
Get Backers: I watched a lot of this on fan-sub a while back, but have started rewatching with the U.S. release. I'm loving it even more this time around. The character interactions are still the best part, but I'm also finding myself enjoying the action sequences more...which is good, because it gets more shounen-fight-sequency as the series goes on. It took me a while to feel comfortable with the dub (they totally went against type for Ginji, especially) but the performances have grown on me. It sucks having to wait a couple months between volumes, though. I wish I hadn't lost my downloaded fan-subs when my 'puter crashed. :(
Blue Gender: A fairly straightforward post-apocalyptic sci-fi actioner, with two sympathetic leads. My enjoyment of this is a little hamstrung by the three-episodes-per-disk format (Have I mentioned recently how much I hate that? Two volumes in, and the series is still only in the ramp-up phase...) but I'm enjoying it so far.
Haibane Renmei: Wasn't overly impressed by the first volume of this. The setup is intriguing, but the lazy way the series goes about introducing us to this world was actually pretty snoozy. Have volume 2 rented right now, though, so I'll see how it goes. [Edit: Well, Volume 2 was a little more promising. I liked the introduction of the Abandoned Warehouse nest and the concepts of the "Day of Flight" and being "Sin-Bound" adds a little more tension to the mix.]
I still want to see more Gasaraki, and the previews for DNAngel and Chrono Crusade on recent Newtype disks have caught my eye, so I'll be renting those ASAP, too. :)
I love the sepia-tinted visuals. I love the theme song. I love the dry cameraderie between Kino & Hermes and Kino's sometimes morally ambiguous adherence to the Traveler's Credo of observing vs. getting involved...(which then makes the few times Kino is forced to get involved all the more impactful.) I love how each episode stirs up the narrative style a little - some episodes dealing with just one particular city, others tying together smaller vignettes, sometimes telling stories in flashback, other times not, changing up the pov, etc. etc.
This series is going to be forever on my short-list of titles that I consider required viewing for otaku and non-otaku alike...one of those titles that I bring up to showcase how artful and moving anime can be, and yet the person I'm talking to will never actually watch it, so my point will be missed. (Not that this happens to me often or anything. :P )
In other anime viewing, Jon and I are currently in the midst of several series. GreenCine can't keep 'em coming fast enough:
Boys Over Flowers: The pinnacle of shojo high-school drama. Unlike other series, this one manages to keep it's story going for 6+ volumes while focusing on only ONE main love triangle. I'm amazed at the twists and turns that keep our heroine endlessly torn between her two potential guys...both of whom are so flawed and realisticly conflicted that the suspense about who she's "fated" to end up with holds up well into the series. For the shojo newbie, this series will probably seem a bit soapy and over-the-top, but I can't get enough.
Marmalade Boy: I've seen this before, but a long time ago, so rewatching it recently has been a great reminder of another fun shojo series - this one a bit more lighthearted than Boys Over Flowers. The main love interest, Yuu, is one of those classic "acts like an ass, but is really a sensitive soul who needs a big hug" that shojo does so well.
Get Backers: I watched a lot of this on fan-sub a while back, but have started rewatching with the U.S. release. I'm loving it even more this time around. The character interactions are still the best part, but I'm also finding myself enjoying the action sequences more...which is good, because it gets more shounen-fight-sequency as the series goes on. It took me a while to feel comfortable with the dub (they totally went against type for Ginji, especially) but the performances have grown on me. It sucks having to wait a couple months between volumes, though. I wish I hadn't lost my downloaded fan-subs when my 'puter crashed. :(
Blue Gender: A fairly straightforward post-apocalyptic sci-fi actioner, with two sympathetic leads. My enjoyment of this is a little hamstrung by the three-episodes-per-disk format (Have I mentioned recently how much I hate that? Two volumes in, and the series is still only in the ramp-up phase...) but I'm enjoying it so far.
Haibane Renmei: Wasn't overly impressed by the first volume of this. The setup is intriguing, but the lazy way the series goes about introducing us to this world was actually pretty snoozy. Have volume 2 rented right now, though, so I'll see how it goes. [Edit: Well, Volume 2 was a little more promising. I liked the introduction of the Abandoned Warehouse nest and the concepts of the "Day of Flight" and being "Sin-Bound" adds a little more tension to the mix.]
I still want to see more Gasaraki, and the previews for DNAngel and Chrono Crusade on recent Newtype disks have caught my eye, so I'll be renting those ASAP, too. :)