Mekakucity Actors Episode 8 Notes – These Borrowed Lives of Ours

(Note: Episodic notes are still mostly to be found on the Episodics Notes’ page, but up to a couple every week will have their write-up appear on the main page, when I think they warrant it. For those who don’t know, I take the notes as I watch the episode, and merely re-order them afterwards.)

The last two episodes have done quite a lot of work, first they made us care for some characters, after spending too long with talking heads. Then they showed us how the various threads of fate connect – Momo’s teacher, Takane and Haruka, Shintaro and the Mekaku-Dan. All know one another.

And then we saw the danger of wishes, tying us to the serpent at the center of it all. But the question is where do we go from now? How does this knowledge, or the outside world forces the characters to actually do something?

(I took 39 screenshots. Not going to insert them all, so here is the complete album.)

Thoughts and Notes:

1) Trying To Find Our Way in Escher’s World:

1) “A new girl?!” is what I thought, but then we hear the name “Tsubomi”, which means it’s Kido of the green hair. She left behind her “sister”. This “sister” has red hair, like Ayano, who was also called “Sister” but Kido. And yet, I don’t think they’re the same person. But the fact fate repeats itself and replaces one older sister with red hair for another might not be accidental.

Spring 2014 Week 8 Impressions – (Anime Power Ranking)

As usual, shows listed by order of my enjoyment of said episode, links to longer write-ups. This was a pretty good week! While most popcorn shows had somewhat bored me or failed to do as well as they did in the past, everything else did really well!

1) Mushishi Second Season episode 7

After a week without it, Mushishi is back, and boy does it come out swinging. I think it’s my favourite episode of the season, after the marvelous second episode. There’s not a lot that happened in this episode, there’s not much symbolism, or characters taking action, or anything you can point at and say “This! This is why this episode, and why Mushishi are so great!” – it was a story of human loss, of a human being swept away by the grand forces of Mushishi, emotions, and loss.

The Garden of Words – Closeness is the Absence of Words

Considering how Voices of a Distant Star is one of my favourite anime films, and how excited I was when I discovered Makoto Shinkai‘s new films (everything following “The Place Promised in Our Early Days” which failed to impress me), it’s surprising I needed this to finally watch The Garden of Words (Kotonoha no Niwa), and of course I have a couple other films of his to watch as well.

Makoto Shinkai seems like he had taken a page from German Sociologist Georg Simmel, who spoke of “distance”, such as by secrets. We define closeness by defining distance – a secret shows us we’re close to someone by painting who is far, and only works so long others know that a secret exists. Human relationships is all that Makoto Shinkai’s first two films are about – about people who are far apart, and yet inexorably connected. The more you push them apart, the more their connection comes to the forefront.

(This is a Things I Like post, it’s not a review, but more a discussion of the show and of ideas that have risen in my mind as I’ve watched it. There will be spoilers. It’s a 45 minutes-long film, just go and watch it.)

Incidental Versus Personal Communities

(This post is a required piece for some of the following pieces, as I intend to write a few pieces on various online communities, modes of discussion, and my experiences with them. It’s not related to “geeky” societies alone, and is more universal. This piece does however hold special significance for “geeky” pursuits, which I will define as a focus on a niche topic, whichever it might be.)

Imagine you pick up a new hobby or interest. It could be anime, surfing, knitting, or even Manchester United. We are excited about our new interest, and this being the internet we find a site, a community, of like-minded individuals. Actually, it doesn’t have to be online either, but the internet makes it easier, and becomes more relevant later on. We find people who share an interest with us, and other than that, they may be nothing like us at all – but it doesn’t matter, we’re here to discuss something.

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Episode 8 – “Nothing is Impossible!”

(Note: Episodic notes are still mostly to be found on the Episodics Notes’ page, this write-up spends some time explaining explanations glossed over in the anime, and talking about basic story-structure, which this narrative doesn’t execute well.)

Well, the first arc is finally over! The second arc is here, and it’s going to be fun, and have action! Just as soon as we finish preparing for the Nine Schools Competition and swallow some more magic jargon :P

Thoughts:

1) Highschool Comedy:

They’re talking about ‘bloomers’.

1) “BS Magicians” always made me laugh – “They’re such “BS Magicians!” (Bullshit, for those not familiar with this acronym). Referring to magicians with a special inborn talent.

Mekakucity Actors Episode 7 Notes – For The Slain, for Future Pain

(Note: Episodic notes are still mostly to be found on the Episodics Notes’ page, but up to a couple every week will have their write-up appear on the main page, when I think they warrant it. For those who don’t know, I take the notes as I watch the episode, and merely re-order them afterwards.)

So, last episode not only had been a solid first episode, it was a pretty good episode. I even cared for Ene’s emotional state at the end of it! Now we need to see how we got from episode 6 to episode 1, and Ene had left Haruka alone, Haruka who has health issues. This will likely be a sore point.

Another thing we need to see is how and why Ayano died exactly, because it feels as if that is the event everything revolves around.

I took 41 screenshots this episode. I’m not going to embed them all, so here is the album.

Thoughts and Notes:

1) Talking of Ourselves…

Spring 2014 Week 7 Impressions – (Anime Power Ranking)

It’s a bit late, cause I’ve been tired, but here they are! Some lengthier write-ups for several shows! I should move to writing just these, honestly, for most shows. Welp, just checked, this post is quite long. Yeah, I could definitely move to just these, instead of episodic notes, and this is almost too long as well.

Shows listed in order of enjoyment. Links are to lengthier write-ups.

1) Ping Pong episode 6

This episode wasn’t as big on “plot” in terms of events happening, as it was on explaining to us our cast, and being thematically heavy (rather than rich). We’ve dealt with heroes and monsters. With death and revival. Peco had an awesome “I am a Golden God!” moment, and Sakuma came out of nowhere to reinvigorate him.

Ping Pong the Animation Episode 7 Notes – Growth Hurts

(Note: Episodic notes are still mostly to be found on the Episodics Notes’ page, but up to a couple every week will have their write-up appear on the main page, when I think they warrant it. For those who don’t know, I take the notes as I watch the episode, and merely re-order them afterwards.)

Last week had had an episode about being a part, and being apart. About teams and loneliness, and how to be with someone, to be with a group, then both sides must be willing – you need to reach a hand, and have the other side accept it for friendship, or it’s a long fight ahead.

Peco is back for Ping Pong, for he remembered not only his dream, but that he had one. He also reminisced of old Smile – is part of his goal to fulfill Smile’s dream, by being someone for him to aspire to? Hm.

Thoughts and Notes:

1) Training Your Guts Out:

1) The episode opens with Kong, teaching techniques to his friends, without technology, and Kazama – alone, selling the superiority of technology, of relying on others’ skills and effort. No, he doesn’t believe it, but that’s the image he is selling.

Spring 2014 Anime Midseason Overview (Part 2/2: Non-Action)

Mid-season of the anime season of Spring 2014 is upon us, so time to round up how I feel about the shows I’m current on. Due to the length of the list, I split it in half. The first part covered action shows. This part covers all the rest of the shows.

Shows are listed in order of enjoyment. Numbers are order on the list, and in parenthesis the order in the joint list, comprised of 13 shows. The first three shows in this section are my favourite three shows of the season, and they’re all at basically the same spot. They’re all winners.

1 (1) Ping Pong the Animation

This show isn’t all that interested in telling us a story we hadn’t heard before. That’s fine, because there aren’t many such stories. This series is interesting in not merely a well-constructed story, but also in one that is well-told. The acting is solid, and the characters are believable. You can understand what is at stake when every conflict is had, or what its purpose is – such as when they use a conflict in the first episode for a third character to look at it and explain to us what is really going on, which in retrospect shows that the “stake-free conflict”, due to how it’s the same conflict that had been ongoing for a while is merely a character’s never-ending capitulation.

Ping Pong the Animation Episode 6 Notes – Hero and Robot

(Note: Episodic notes are still mostly to be found on the Episodics Notes’ page, but up to a couple every week will have their write-up appear on the main page, when I think they warrant it. For those who don’t know, I take the notes as I watch the episode, and merely re-order them afterwards.)

Last episode wasn’t about conflicts, as much as it was about fallout of conflicts, and about acceptance. Accepting that being at the top means you’re being alone, and the only ones who can understand you are your rivals. Friends, cast away; allies, discarded.

Smile is a lonely robot, he can do it on his own, but then, why did he lose to Peco, to stay around him? Why did he idolize Peco with his sure manner and quick tongue? And Peco is heart-broken and alone. Without his old friend, without Ping Pong to affirm his status as a victor, rather than a cry-baby.

Thoughts and Notes:

1) The Destroyer is Here – But He’s Nice Inside:

1) Yesss, the first scene in the episode follows my pre-amble! The giant robot is attacked by gnats, who keep poking at him, drawing his attention. But he doesn’t care, he’ll just smash them all. That’s Smile, and the others are his weak opponents, and his weak teammates, and perhaps his own emotions, which he eliminates, in one fell swoop.