Japanese Title:  Kaze no tani no Naushika

Directed By:  Hayao Miyazaki

Produced By:  Isao Takahata

Originally Released:  March 11, 1984

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind WAS NOT made by Studio Ghibli. It’s important to get that out of the way. Many people consider it a Ghibli film. In fact, there are those out there that you could ask “What is your favorite Ghibli film?” and they would say Nausicaa. Bzzzt! Wrong! Nausicaa IS the catalyst for everything Ghibli. Not only did it allow for the formation of Ghibli, but all of its themes and many of the questions it raises about man vs. nature as well as environmentalism vs. industrialism are common themes that will go on to shape the world of Ghibli. For now, though, Ghibli is non-existent. All that exists is Hayao Miyazaki, an unfinished manga and the will to turn it into a film. Have I set the scene for you? Alright, let’s continue.

In the future, this is how we will go to buy groceries.

In 1982, Miyazaki began working on a manga for Tokuma Shoten Publishing’s Animage magazine. The publication was mainly aimed at analyzing the trends of the anime market of the time. He signed on to create Nausicaa for the magazine on the condition that he could have full control of the script. In the early days of the manga, chapters were released frequently. Miyazaki, out of work at the time, was producing content faster than anyone expected. The success of this new series for Animage magazine was huge. So much so, that they agreed to finance a feature-length film of the project. To do this, they employed animators on a ‘per cel’ basis which meant that they weren’t on contract but rather being paid for each cel of animation they produced. This meant that costs were kept to a relative low.

Hello there, can I interest you in today’s special? MY FINGER???

The production, coordinated mostly by Miyazaki, went at an insane pace. Between the conception of the idea and the release of the film, only ten months actually passed. During this time, Miyazaki would have to re-focus the film and, ironically, halt work on the manga that had made it possible. He would eventually finish the manga years later. During the process, he befriended Joe Hisaishi, the composer of the film. This friendship would become one fated by the stars as Hisaishi would go on to do the music for ALL of Miyazaki’s films. Considering the low budget and tight time constraints, you can imagine the studio’s excitement when Nausicaa took Japan by storm.

People going out to see Nausicaa on opening day be like…

Before we get into the actually analysis of the film, I want to take a moment to speak to the controversy surrounding this film’s release in the United States as it seems to come up in every bit of research I’ve found. Many times throughout the anime story, the United States film distributors took it upon themselves to alter the films, which of course Miyazaki was firmly against. This film actually made Miyazaki take a hard and fast rule for distribution: NO ALTERATIONS. Nausicaa was released a year after its Japanese debut in the US with over 20 minutes of footage removed from the film. Furthermore, it had been recut, re-edited and given a poor quality dub. To top it off, it was renamed Warriors of the Wind and the titular character’s name was changed to Zandra. From here on out, Miyazaki would not tolerate changes to his films. For this article, we watched the full version of the film in Japanese, changing the audio track to English only occasionally to listen in on the star studded English speaking cast.

Japanese people watching the English version of Nausicaa be like…

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind takes place 1,000 years after an apocalyptic event know as the Seven Days of Fire. This event marked the days when the Warrior Giants basically ruined the Earth and destroyed Civilization. In their wake, they left behind a vast toxic jungle, a Sea of Corruption. This forest is teaming with huge giant insects, particularly one species which takes center focus known as the Ohm. A prophecy foretells of a blue clothed savior with will lead the people to pure lands. Our story essentially begins with the crash of a cargo aircraft from the Tolmekian Kingdom. Unfortunately, this ship is carrying the embryo of one of the Warrior Giants. And doubly bad is the fact that the Tolmekian troops descend on The Valley of the Wind, kill Nausicaa, the princess’, father the King, and vow to destroy the forest with the Warrior Giant. As Nausicaa works to stop them, she, along with a boy named Asbel, from another warring kingdom known as Pejite, discover a clean world filled with viable soil underneath the Sea of Decay. It becomes clear that the poisonous forest is actually cleansing the land. Now its up to Nausicaa to stop two warring kingdoms, as well as the Ohm, from destroying the entire world before it’s too late.

Insert obvious “You shall not pass” joke here.

If the story sounds complex, it’s because it is. This isn’t a straight linear story like what we’ve come to be used to in the Vault Disney series. While there is a catalyst, a mid-point and a climax, characters are really driving the story here in crazy ways. Asbel starts his story attacking the Tolmekian ships, and it would be easy to see him as a rogue or a bad guy, but actually he turns out to be a really good character who is just trying to save his people. Princess Kushana, leader of the “Let’s use the warrior to burn it all” method is actually the villain, but also plays as a very complex character in the fact that she wants to end the insects for taking away her arm. The whole film seems to play with this idea of ebb and flow.

Burn it down? Yes. Burn it down. Burning it down!

Take the central theme of environmentalism, played by Nausicaa, versus Industrialism, played by Kushana. It seems simple enough, but consider that Nausicaa’s people are also industrial. She even rides a machine, her air glider. There’s this balance that must be kept in order for everything to co-exist, but finding that balance is easier said than done.  The idea then becomes more about ideals. These two women are looking for the same thing. They both want to end the spread of the Sea of Decay so their people can thrive. Yet, their actions and the way that they go about this task are what divides them. Nausicaa seeks to learn and to use knowledge to stop the Sea by understanding it. Kushana wants to burn it all down. They both seek the same endpoint, but the means of delivery couldn’t be more different. Even in this first film of our new series, I found myself taking notes, trying to understand where each character was coming from. What were their motivations? The thing is, they all make very appropriate decisions and moves in the story based on these motivations and that is what makes Nausicaa an example of superb story-telling.

Environmentalism VS. Industrialism, a metaphorical photo.

Not only is it an incredibly deep and formidable story to digest, but the production value is through the roof. The animation is sharp and the characters seem to live and breathe. This doesn’t feel like a cartoon or a fantasy. It feels so real. A special shout-out must be thrown to Joe Hisaishi for what may now be one of my favorite musical scores EVER. The sound of this film is futuristic yet fully 80’s. Synthesizers mix with sweeping movements of an orchestra to create something that I frequently stopped the film to ponder. To say that this film both looks, sounds and feels different than anything we’ve watched before on this blog is a gross understatement.

From its opening moments, Nausicaa gets more action than a 21 year old at singles night. Hey-o!

Before we close out, I want to touch on the feministic value of this film. I often say that Disney seems to really have to try to be feminist. And even when they try, it often feels forced. Four years before Ariel embodied the fact that girls need men to save them in The Little Mermaid, Nausicaa was showing that women are extremely powerful and courageous and can affect positive change in the world. This doesn’t feel like a male or female driven world. The fact that the two sides of this political debate are both powerful women is a big plus, but at no point did I think that because this was a film about two women with opposing values that this was a film primarily for girls. In fact, if I had to name an audience for Nausicaa I would simply say that it was made for people who like really amazing films. The point is, I’ve talked A LOT about how to write female characters who seem real and strong and on par with the way that male characters are written and this film does it beautifully.

The climax of the film involves tickling Nausicaa to wake her up. (This statement is a lie.)

I could go on about this film. Dissecting Nausicaa has proven to be the most formidable film I’ve written about for this site. That’s not an exaggeration. To think that this is just the beginning makes me feel a bit terrified, but I am also exhilarated at knowing there is far more to come. The themes here will branch out and become everything we know as quintessentially Ghibli. From strange flying machines to the idea that balance is needed for nature and machine to co-exist, it all started here. Nausicaa was SO successful that it opened the doors for Miyazaki and Takahata to start Studio Ghibli. This film marks the beginning of our story, and even now I’m itching to see what lies in Chapter Two.

Something tells me this isn’t the last time we’ve heard from the wind.

NEXT UP:  Laputa: Castle in the Sky

For an Introduction to the Vault Ghibli Series, head here!

• Story– ★★
  An omnipotent being known as “Daisy” appears and is granting wishes. When she grants said wishes for people, they obtain a mark that gives them an ability that matches what they’ve wished for. Ofcourse, the protagonist of this show known as Eiji Hoshimiya is held responsible for the catastrophe that occurred 10 years before the present date of this story for his own wish. These people who have these abilities are known as “Orders”. Throughout the entirety of this story, Orders and regular people alike want Eiji Hoshimiya dead. Thus starts the tale of the order with the ability to dominate anything and everything within his domain… Not that it’s really all that exciting, I mean they sure know how to  make an exciting plot with unsolved mysteries seem like a video about a still picture running boar.
• Characters-★★★
  I have to admit the characters had interesting character designs and some with the backstory to “back” it up. (heh.) That said, the main character has possibly the strongest ability yet he’s almost as whiny as Shinji and has no balls! The typical yandere character isn’t very interesting although she’s my favorite just because she’s kinda cool when she fights and her character design is my favorite. All the other cast members look cool n’ all but lack any sort of development. There’s 1 that I was kind of liking but can’t remember off the top of my head. Although, she started out… really bad so maybe that’s why. Yoshitsune Hiiragi is the only 1 out of the group of ten that really mattered but even then I didn’t care very much about him because he was so uninteresting and comes off as someone who has everything figured out but is easily outmaneuvered by quite literally everyone. He really doesn’t accomplish anything except out-thinking the main character but that isn’t saying much because that guy is just dumb. The main antagonist is kind of generic honestly and he isn’t competing against much. Still, an interesting character design.
• Art & Animation–★★★
  The art really isn’t bad at all. I really like a lot of the character designs and I do feel like a lot of the art portrays the story fairly well in terms of a more light post-apocalyptic. Although, there are certain elements that kind of take away from that such as the fact that the main character still has regular classes which is mostly just to learn about the tragedy that happens 10 years ago which makes learning fairly useless anyways. Why are you teaching this? Sorry for the useless tangent. As I was saying, I like the art, the animation is a bit off to me honestly because it has a lot of dependence in the fighting scenes which has a proportional amount of CGI implemented which is definitely not a bad thing. A lot of times, I enjoy when 2D anime implement 3D or CGI, to be more specific, elements to increase the anime in quality because it works more than half the time. Just look at Tales Of Zerstiria the X which recently started airing, each moment they implement 3D has been beautiful! The 3D that is usually implemented in the fighting scenes don’t always fit, in my opinion. It just does not look pleasant to me.
• Personal Thoughts- ★★★★ (4/10)
  Believe it or not, I liked the first 2 episodes. The second one ended on a bit of a fishy note because it seemed too… “easy”? As soon as the 3rd episode started, I was a little suspicious and as it went on I understood why. Episode 3 was when the show really fell downhill but REALLY downhill! Episode 3 was a clusterfuck of nonsensical bullshit. I am appalled that it’s even a thing. It wasn’t even laughably bad, it was just straight-up bad! There are certain anime that shall not be named (School Days) that was worse but pretty close to how bad this episode was. Fortunately, the rest of the show wasn’t as painful to watch as episode 3 but it was still pretty bad. The story made progress only for like 2 episodes at a time. While, it didn’t seem like there was a filler episode every other episode it certainly felt like it, which is terrible for an anime of only 10 episodes. On top of the story being rushed to all hell, it was way too predictable. For me, there wasn’t any plot twists because most of the twists for pretty obvious. Once you know the first twist, you know the rest. There was a fairly large cast yet even the ones that got a sliver of character development didn’t even matter because, as I’ve said, they were either underwhelming or had no reason to get it. The fan-service you will find is so forced into your face almost begging you to like this anime and there’s no urgency in the story because, aside from not caring about the characters at all, you know the worst everything will pretty much be dandy by the end of it, nobody is ever in any real danger. This may also go back to the fact that the protagonists power is overpowered but I guess it doesn’t entirely matter at this point. If there’s anything else I have to say about this anime is that it has no real “gimmick” or anything that seperates itself from other anime that also use this similar story line. I like the story line, it’s grand in scale and could be very emotional. However, it’s hardly original.

  Stay Tuned!
  The Anime Prince 
  

So, I watched the first episode of this when it came out and was somewhat underwhelmed. The humour didn’t hit for me and the art style, while it is clearly different and interesting in its own way, didn’t do much more me either.  After reading repeated rave reviews of this show I went back and decided to try watching a couple of episodes together.

Review Episode 2 + 3

For me, these episodes were both more interesting than the first episode (and with the limited screen time Reigen got, they were a lot less annoying). That said, I still didn’t find this show particularly riveting. While the deadpan main character might work when I’m engaged by the support cast, in Mob’s case the support cast have all so far been truly horrendous. None of the, save Reigen who is really, really super annoying, have been given sufficient screen time to have any impact. As a result they all seem like one dimensional set ups for a gag that for me just never delivers.

The most interesting part of this show so far is the idea that Mob has had to shut down his emotions because of his psychic powers. That actually gave us a reason for the count down (count up) to the explosion and the explosion was actually well worth it. For about three minutes this show completely engaged me. However, three minutes of entertainment isn’t enough after three episodes and I’m going to stick with my original assessment and drop this. Even if it has an interesting concept at its core, if the delivery isn’t working for me than I’ll spend my time better elsewhere.

That said, I really think this is a show people need to watch for themselves, given its unique art style and the fact that humour is so incredibly subjective.

Mob Psycho 100 is available on Crunchyroll.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t know what it is, because I have a very clear idea on from a fandom perspective.  I don’t automatically assume that it’s always postal shipping.  When I mean in the sense of why people feel like arguing over them. So yeah, I don’t understand why people have to argue over them.  There are much more important things going on in a story then who should be dating who.  This topic comes into mind because a Steven Universe story board artist left twitter after being harassed by a fan.  Utter insanity.  This isn’t only a Steven Universe problem, because this dips into a lot of Western animation things (the Avatar shipping wars were brutal), western live action TV (Supernatural and so on), and anime.  It’s just so beyond my understanding.

I’m not saying that getting to attached character is wrong.  On the contrary, getting attached to the people who appear in a story improves the experience by exponential amounts.  Getting attracted to characters in a series is something we all do.  Even caring about who a character ends up with in the end can be such a big deal.  That being said, I never understood why people have to go war over these things.  Escape is something that we all watch these kind of shows for, but at the end of the day these are still fictional characters.  That doesn’t mean that this thing doesn’t hold value, but it just seems silly to fight over them.  Even worse to harass one of the people behind the show that the complainer is watching.  That doesn’t do anything of value besides irritating more people.  Why can’t we all join together when it comes to our love of a series?

I’m sorry for writing this, but I just felt like I had to rant.  It all started with one article and exploded in my head.  With the help of the internet, it feels like fandoms have gotten more insane recently then they ever have been.  It could still be the loud minority in the favor of the silent majority thing, but it’s really hard to tell sometimes.

Excuse me while I place this sheet of paper in front of me and ignore you. How does that even? I mean, I am trying to understand…does that symbol mean “ignore” or “my ears don’t work”. Were those men also there when the truth about the prince being possessed was revealed? Cause if they were…someone needs to have a talk. I would hand them the pink slip cause they weren’t doing their jobs right.

I feel kind of bad for those kids Balsa went to visit. She came in, asked them to run errands for her, then she says they can’t live there afterwards. Where are they going to live? And you gave them money that they CAN’T use until the following year? Talk about pulling the rug out from under them. At least buy them some food.

And I need to have some lessons in bargaining with Toya. I mean, my boy went into work when it came down to pushing down prices. Can you help me with my car note? Or maybe with my insurance? Cause mama has no money for what matters the most! Tacos! I haven’t had a good taco in a minute.

I almost expected the four assassins to start running like me when I am about to piss my pants. I have seen so many animes where people just start running like the torpedo is leaving the port. Kind of harsh for a father to send out hitmen for his son. What I think is more f*cked up…for a father to let his son walk around with sideburns, and a man bun. Talk about not giving no f*cks!

Follow me on Twitter

@valerie41torres

Check out my book

The Phantom Files: Eve

This episode contains Tales of Berseria spoilers. The game doesn’t come out in Japan until the 18^th and will come out early 2017 outside of Japan. However, this could be different from the game, so if you still want to watch, then go ahead.

Before I start with the summary, I want to say that I deleted my Orange Episode 1 Summary/Thoughts post as I decided to do an Orange anime review when it ends.

Okay, let’s start with the episode!

As the rain continues, Velvet and Seres walk towards the port. Oscar’s boat arrives and a girl wearing a strange outfit flies past the boat.

I can show you the world~

Seres greets Oscar.

Hello Oscar, I am here to tell you that I’m going to betray you and your people–oops, already did that.

Oscar states that he couldn’t believe that Seres betrayed Artorius.

His most popular nicknames before the reveal of his name were “Flynn 2.0”, “Not Flynn”, and “Knighty”.

Velvet jumps down and meets Oscar. He calls her a ‘glouton’, but I don’t know what that is. She tells Oscar that she’s going to steal his ship to take down Artorius. As Oscar’s soldiers get ready for a fight, he stops them and tells that her words deserves certain death. Rays of lighting shoot down towards Velvet and Seres. Fortunately, they aren’t that damaged.

Humans in the Berseria world cannot use magic and can only use it when channeling a malak. Oscar must be contracted with either Laphicet or the other malak that was with him in a trailer or commercial.

Oscar tells Velvet if she can defeat the sword entrusted to him by Artorius. He talks about how she is still a woman, so he should pay his respects before attacking her. Velvet doesn’t want to hear any of the chivalry nonsense as she throws a large stone at one of his men with her left hand; the man falls into the sea. Poor guy.

He’s blasting off again!

Then a battle starts between Velvet and Oscar. Is he going to be the first boss in the game?

I bet he’s going to be Alisha’s descendant.

I hope so. I love the animation. It’s smooth and the CGI is amazing.

Also, I love that Velvet has a blade attached to her right boot, which enables her to start using her legs alongside her arms.

“You thought I had one, but I have two.”

She seems like a hybrid of twin sword user and a martial artist. I guess Velvet’s battle style would happen if you combine Senel Coolidge, Lloyd Irving and Jude Mathis together. Though, there are a few things I didn’t like, I like to look at the positives more than the negatives.

I like the slow motion CGI here.

As Velvet uses her demon arm to attack Oscar (but misses), Oscar summons lightning. Velvet blocks it with her arm, but the strength of the magic pushes her into the ocean. That’s payback for sending one of his men into the ocean, Velvet.

Oscar: This is what you call karma.

However, unlike the mook, Velvet jumps out of the ocean and back onto the land.

Velvet: Karma? Psh, go back to Tales of the Abyss.

Oscar tells her that she is indeed a beast, and as long as he is here, she would be defeated. He also tells her that the reason why he is here is to send her back into the prison. Her purpose is to continue devouring daemons. Does the abbey use her arm to get energy from devoured daemons?

Velvet tells Oscar that she lived off of devouring daemons every single day for the past three years. He tells her that if she resents that then she shouldn’t for it is her duty that the world decided for her. Hearing his words makes Velvet angry as she remembers her younger brother and asks Oscar if what he said also applies to how her younger brother got sacrificed.

She is clearly traumatized.

Farewell, Oscar, you pissed off Velvet.

Oscar agrees as every person has a role in life. Like how Artorius was chosen by the world because that was its decision.

It makes it seem like Artorius is like Van from Tales of the Abyss.

Velvet states that a world that took a life in exchange is unforgivable and that, she would never forgive a world that was built by sacrificing her brother. That voice acting is stellar. I can hear the sadness, frustration and anger in Velvet’s voice.

Berseria is derived from the word Berserk, which fits Velvet’s face in this picture perfectly.

Seres looks on as Oscar mutters that Velvet won’t be going back so willingly.

Why hello, I’m not sure why I’m not doing anything when I could be doing something.

As his men prepare for battle, everyone hears a roar. They turn to see that it belongs to a dragon. As they are awed and confused on why a dragon is here and wonders if it’s because of Velvet.

CGI Dragon: 10/10.

The dragon approaches them. Oscar commands his men to shoot their magic. The dragon dodges all the fireballs and lands on the port, attacking Oscar’s men. Some fell in the water and the dragon snatches one and flies off with it in its mouth. Dragons are considered daemons in Berseria, and since this is a prequel to Zestiria, it means that a malak is so corrupted that it became a daemon dragon. The dragon comes back. Oscar uses lightning magic to attack it. It dodges and then destroys Oscar’s boat.

Oscar then asks if Seres is still willing to defy Artorius after seeing this dragon. Seres replies that she has no intention of living under someone’s ideals and she will follow her own path. I think this shows that Seres has developed a will, as Malakim are forced to not have wills.

Oscar ridicules Seres as he attacks the dragon. He must be strong if the dragon is actually damaged by him. As Velvet wonders about the ship, a strange object appear behind her.

The mustache is orange…?

It belongs to the strange girl clad in an even stranger outfit. She seems agitated that her peaceful nap was interrupted.

She starts harping about with flamboyant gestures. This is Magilou, another person bound to become one of Velvet’s companions. I like the music that plays when Magilou shows up. Is that her theme? It suits her completely, but not in this intense and glum situation.

Magilou

Apparently, Magilou was also at the prison as well. However, Velvet is not interested as she sees Oscar and his men weaken the dragon with dark magic.

Though, the question is: Is that actually dark magic?

As Magilou harps about how dragons are a trifle and how she is a great sorceress, Velvet runs off. She is still hell-bent on getting a ship to escape the island.

Finger gun time!

Oscar is still using magic to weaken the dragon. His men lose energy and fall unconscious. The magical barrier break and the dragon is free—Oscar is also weakened as well.

You’re screwed.

You’re definitely screwed.

The dragon’s attention fixates on Velvet and it attacks her. Velvet gets into a fight with a dragon. She dodges its attack, but it then attacks her and she feels intense pain. Silly, Velvet, you should know that you fight dragons either at the middle of the game or at the end. You’re only like level 5 right now.

Velvet won’t let anything stop her as a bit of blood pours out from her mouth. As the dragon attacks her again, the attack is blocked by Seres’ barrier. Seres tells her that there is a way to get out of the predicament and get to Artorius: gambling her life to Velvet. Velvet is shocked.

Seres’ barrier breaks. The dragon uses an attack that blasts Velvet and Seres back into a part of the prison.

As the dragon approaches them, Magilou stops it with her magic. She can’t move a ship, but she can’t let the dragon destroy it. Rokurou appears to attack the dragon as well. Since he needs a ship as well, he will help Magilou, to her joy. Magilou tells the dragon that she is the great sorceress and then speaks out a spell as her little paper thing turns into a hoverboard like thing.

Velvet regains consciousness. As she sits up, she is shocked to see Seres severely wounded. She asks her why she’s doing this. Seres replies that she has hope that she can defeat Artorius; she also asks Velvet to devour her. Velvet asks why; Seres replies that she is bound by a covanant by which she has to offer her life. She requests for Velvet to devour her and gain strength that will allow her to move forward. As Velvet stands up and reaches out her left hand, she asks why Seres is doing this. Seres explains that she is like Velvet—she has a fire in her heart that she cannot extinguish no matter how much she tries.

Talk to the demon hand!

She gives her a comb in the process.

The comb and an apple are present in Berseria trailers…does that mean Velvet is Snow White without the seven dwarfs?

Velvet recognizes it as ‘Laphi’’s’ comb. I think Laphicet is the name of her brother and that she gives the name to the malak Laphicet as he was never bestowed a name.

She activates her demon arm and grabs Seres’ face. She won’t thank or apologize to her; Seres replies that there is no need to do so for it is a part of her wish. Her mask breaks.

I guess this debunks the ‘Seres is Lailah’ theory.

Velvet gets a flashback of both her and Laphi as children before proceeding to devour Seres. I love the music. I wonder it’s a part of the Berseria soundtrack or if it’s an anime soundtrack. I wonder if both Motoi Sakuraba and Go Shiina are in charge of the soundtrack again.

Velvet and her brother Laphi as children.

She successfully devours Seres. She staggers a bit before seeing a ring form in front of and taking it.

Seres has been reborn into a ring?

Back to Magilou, she attacks the dragon. The dragon knocks her back while Rokurou does his best to fend it off.

You’re designed by Okumura; you’re gonna have a bad fate.

That goes for you too, Rokurou.

Velvet, clutching the comb, rushes out of the prison and attacks the dragon with a fire arte. I guess channeling malaks with a ring is possible for humans to use magic as well. Oscar is shocked to learn that Velvet devoured Seres.

Velvet gets the upperhand and pushes the dragon down. As she is about to devour it, a lighting blade stabs her. Oscar tells her that he cannot allow a monster like her to leave. She tells him her name and to give Artorius a message:

“I am Velvet Crowe. Daemons, malaks, and exorcists, I will devour them all. I am your worst glouton!”

She successfully devours the dragon. I take back what I said earlier about the dragons being defeated mid-game or end of the game. A huge explosion happens as well.

The dragon went boom.

Then, we see that Velvet and co. successfully steal a ship.

Rokurou asks where Magilou and Velvet want to go. Magilous replies that anywhere is fine as she follows the wind. Velvet does not say anything as she stares at the comb. She stares at the sky and drifts off to sleep.

She gets a dream about her brother, Laphi. She asks him “Why do birds fly across the sky?”

Laphicet Crowe

He replies that they have to fly to find food and to escape from enemies.

Sixteen-year-old Velvet.

Then, he also says something about birds with wings but gets cut off as he dream shifts to the Scarlet Night.

What Velvet’s life had once been.

She remembers everything on that day. Velvet is seriously traumatized.

Artorius Collbrande

Once the dream ends, she tells Rokurou to take the boat to Midgand. Magilou states that anything can happen and the episode ends with Velvet staring at the sky with determination.

Velvet will get her revenge.

Oh, the ending is the opening for Tales of Berseria!! What a nice opening!

This will be the end of the Berseria episodes. We go to Sorey and co. next week.

Anyways, I really liked this episode as well. It makes me want to play the game now. Though, I do wonder if the actual dragon fight will be in the game or if its anime-exclusive only. I do hope that Berseria’s continuity will be tied into Zestiria or these two episodes would only be pointless advertising.

Well, I do like how Seres is like Velvet as they both have something they want accomplished. It’s sad to see Seres die, but I’m sure her death won’t be in vain.

Magilou’s appearance was a bit out of place, then again, I guess it’s her character. I like her. She’s like a more extravagant and flamboyant version of Rokurou as she lightens up the intense mood.

Rokurou is still cool.

I do love that Velvet’s desire for revenge is a mix of hatred and trauma. She’s clearly traumatized from what happened to her brother. Her desire for revenge and wanting to kill Artorius is justified as the man sacrificed her brother in order to create the world that it is in Berseria.

I love the soundtrack. It’s sad to see that it’s over, but it’s time to go back to Sorey.

What did you think of Tales of Berseria so far? Did the episodes made you want the game? Are you going to play the game? Well, I don’t have a PS4, but I’ll be enjoying people’s livestreams on Youtube.

Hanae trying to be positive after his frightening experience to the Underworld & Manjiro & other yokais; why are you so cute?!

My Thoughts:
I love how simplicity Manjiro is.

Ahaha; Ashiya groveling apologizing to everyone because of his idioticity.
Everyone; this guy is seriously sorry about this but I like how the Mononokean wanted to clear some things up by asking him if he hated them now and he said no but he was scared but after knowing; his final answer was no.
Ashiya has a big heart for Yokais.

MANJIRO IS JUST AN EEL; AN EPIC EEL!

After finding the ring; I found it funny how Ashiya found it by intuition and gut feeling while Abeno was kinda pressured to find it and couldn’t.
Also; the two of them are hilariously idiotic.
They didn’t give a thought while finding the ring how to return it and hopefully not scaring the old woman away by some conspiracy of Yokais and only they could see.

After giving the ring to the old lady & explaining how Manjiro wanted them to find it and hopefully she didn’t think that they were lying to her; the expressions & words just softly touched my heart about Manjiro and her.

The end before the credits began got me hyped so much for the next episode about those fox/cat paws.
The voice was just spot on creepy.

Verdict:
A ring,a eel and more of Ashiya’s idioticity.

This episode was a great lightener after a dark serious expression from Ashiya.

I feel bad for the teacher/Ashiya for getting glared by Abeno.
Nice save, Fusshi!

Rate: 10/10

Cardcaptor Sakura – Episode 1

Score: 8/10.

Revolutionary Girl Utena – Episode 6

Score: 7.5/10.

Casshern Sins – Episode 8

Score: 6.5/10.

Notes: Very weird episode. To me, it almost felt like a cheesy parody of Casshern Sins; others were moved to tears. I can’t help but blame it on episode director Itō Tatsufumi, whose main work (?) Senki Zesshō Symphogear has been described as “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure with singing teenagers and rocket explosions” — not Casshern Sins–esque at all.

Japanese phrase misheard by overseas anime fan inspires amusement across the twittersphere. We solve the mystery of what it actually means!

A recent tweet containing the mysterious phrase “Grand Sponsor Tokyo day OH Christmas” by Japanese twitter user @gio_lespedeza has gone viral.  With over 14,000 retweets in the first two days after its initial posting and over 10,000 ‘likes’, it seems to have really struck a chord with Japanese netizens. But what does this strange utterance mean?

▼ Maybe if you hear it read aloud it’ll make more sense? Actually, no, nevermind!

「ご覧のスポンサーの提供でお送りします」が外国人さんには「Grand sponsor Tokyo day OH Christmas.」に聴こえるアレを読んでもらいました。 https://t.co/6ivwBhIh70

—
kakikeko700 (@kakikeko) August 11, 2016

After discovering the phrase in an English language comment, it seems the user experienced something of a eureka-moment when they realized what it actually meant. Below is a translation describing the user’s revelation:

海外の人向けにアニメでよく聞く日本語を解説する動画シリーズのコメント欄に「アニメの途中とかによく聞く、Grand sponsor Tokyo day OH Christmas って何？」みたいなコメントがあって、ちょっと考えたんだけど、「ご覧のスポンサーの提供でお送りします」だ…

—
ジオ・レスペデーザ (@gio_lespedeza) August 09, 2016

“This program is brought to you by…” — once commonly heard on American television programs, this phrase has become increasingly unusual in recent decades. In Japan, however, most television programs still include this message, so it’s not surprising that the original commenter was asking about this ubiquitous bit of Japanese.

▼ You can hear the message at the end of this 14-second video.

So why did this become such a hit with Japanese Twitter users? It seems that many people were amused and interested to learn how Japanese sounds to people from other countries. Some were sympathetic, and agreed that the phrase indeed sounds that way when spoken with an English accent.

Other Twitter users were eager to share their own experiences with misheard or misinterpreted Japanese, including a pretty hilarious video of anime theme “lyrics” previously featured on a RocketNews24 article!

Despite the sudden interest in this unique interpretation of a relatively mundane part of Japanese television culture, this phrase has apparently been circulating around the internet for several years in English-speaking circles.

▼　Post from a message board predates the recent tweet by several years…

From the looks of this post, it seems that the use of the phrase amongst English speakers is somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Is this just part of a long-running in-joke with North American anime fans, or did some poor soul genuinely believe this to be the meaning of the mysterious message? Either way, it seems that this rendering of the phrase appeals to Japanese people’s sense of humor.

Source: Togetter.com
Top image: Twitter/@kakikeko700
Image: Henshin Justice.com/Screenshot by RocketNews24 

When I visited Japan several years ago I had a strange encounter. I saw a mysterious creature, a yokai.

It was during a walking tour. My sister and I were climbing up a long set of stairs toward a temple gate. Ahead of us we noticed some Japanese girls taking photos and exclaiming excitedly. What was this about? We climbed faster.  In the bushes just off to the side, less than three feet away, we glimpsed a Japanese tanuki.

What are yokai? I like using the word yokai rather than trying to translate it. We can’t quite do it justice in translation: “a monster, spirit, goblin, ghost, demon, phantom, specter, fantastic being… or any unexplainable experience.” (Foster)

What’s a tanuki? They’re a raccoon dog, more closely related to a wolves or dogs than raccoon. Folklore calls them tricksters who can transform themselves.

Pom Poko

Pom Poko is a Ghibli movie about tanuki. It’s a pseudo-documentary-style story about a group of tanuki whose homes are being threatened by human development. They decide to fight back using their mystical powers of transformation and deception. Operation Spectre is their grand plan to scare the humans, but everyone who sees them thinks it’s just a parade. They stand around wide-eyed in fascination rather than being afraid. So, the tanuki are faced with a harder choice – learn to live as humans in the human world, or live like animals wherever they can in the city.

Japanese yokai are so much fun. They can be scary, but these next two stories the yokai are mostly weird looking, and often times deceptively cute.

Natsume’s Book of Friends

My favorite manga about Japanese yokai is Natsume’s Book of Friends by Yuki Midorikawa.

It’s about a young boy who can see these mysterious creatures that no one else can. He gets into all sorts of trouble, because of his ability. People used to call him a liar for talking about weird-scary things, and he had to learn to lie and pretend to not see them.

So, at first Natsume just wants a normal kind of life, but he slowly realizes he cares about both worlds, the human and the yokai. It’s a gentle story about the ongoing encounters between Natsume and the yokai.

There are sweet stories, sad stories, and scary stories all mixed together. The artwork is delicate and little bit rough around the edges, but I like that about it.

Natsume in Disguise

Natsume and  Nyanko-sensei

The Morose Mononokean

Volume 1 features Itsuki, the Master of the Mononokean

More recently, I’m reading about yokai in The Morose Mononokean by Kiri Wazawa.

A young man named Hanae Ashiya encounters a fuzzy yokai and picks it up, thinking its a stuffed animal. Afterward, the fuzzy-ball gloms onto him and he suffers from its affections.

Do you see the fluffy white fur-ball in the panel below?

That’s Fuzzy.

In the beginning Fuzzy is a scary yokai, because he’s making Ashiya sick. He’s an unknown. A strangeness. As Ashiya gets weaker, Fuzzy gets larger and larger. Then Ashiya finds a flyer for an exorcist, and wanders into a strange room called the Mononokean. There he meets Itsuki.

When Ashiya discovers the truth about Fuzzy, suddenly the yokai isn’t as scary. Fuzzy is the spirit of a dog, and just wanted someone to play with him again. 

And so, Ashiya ends up working for Itsuki and he encounters all kinds of yokai: scary ones and sweet ones. There’s even a yokai who can’t express emotions except by using masks. He has different ones for crying and rage. But his laughing mask is missing and Ashiya must get it back for him. That’s easier said than done, because the mask is stuck on someone’s face. The man is a priest at a temple and bedridden from exhaustion due to laughing all the time. The only way to get the mask off is to have someone cry in front of him. Ashiya attempts to do this, but eventually’s the old man’s daughter ends up crying and frees him.

The human world and yokai world interact in really interesting ways in both this story. Should someone relatively normal like Ashiya be allowed to see yokai? Or is it too dangerous? There are some powerful monsters in the underworld that believe Ashiya’s ability to see is dangerous to them and they want to get rid of him.

Both Natsume and The Mononokean are bittersweet stories. They’re about seeing the world differently from most people, yet trying to make the world a better place for everyone.

Both tell stories about strange creatures, but the emotions present are so very familiar. How do we connect with someone so different from us? Why do we yearn for those connections? It’s never easy.

“There is an important relationship between that which cannot be seen (because it is invisible, indescribable, or numinous) and that which must not be seen (because it is terrible to look upon, frightening, or dangerous.)”

* Quotes from — Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese monsters and the culture of Yokai by Michael Dylan Foster

I’m always looking for more stories about yokai. If you know any, share in the comments.

Currently reading: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
On my Kindle: nothing? (what’s wrong with me.)
Currently playing (and loving): No Man’s Sky

Anime: Teekyuu 4

| Episode: 46

Comiket sizzled on opening day with hot beauties from favourites like One Piece, Love Live!, and even Pokémon.

Comiket, or “Comic Market”, is now in its 41st year, bringing dōjinshi self-published works like novels, magazines and manga to hordes of fans at biannual events held at the Tokyo Big Sight convention centre in August and December.

While illustrators inside the halls advertise their works, cosplayers outside the venue also take part in a spot of self-promotion, with a number of designated “cosplay areas” set up for participants.

The Comiket 90 summer event opened on Friday, and our Japanese reporter braved the heat to check out this year’s cosplay selection. With popular characters from Pokémon, Love Live!, and One Piece making their appearance on the grounds, he snapped some pictures of the crowd favourites to share with the rest of us who chose to stay inside, enjoying the air-conditioned comfort of the office instead.

▼ First up, we have the Alolan Vulpix from Pokémon Sun and Moon, cooling things down with her Snow Cloak ability and icy breath.

The whiskered Miko, from the light novel series No Game No Life, quickly heats things up again in her revealing kimono outfit, complete with a large monocle and fluffy fox ears.

Joining the leader of the Warbeasts is their former ambassador Izuna, showing off her animal and human traits in fluffy blue fox ears and a kimono with purple trim to match her hair.

As always, the ever-popular anime series Love Live! was well represented, with Nico Yazawa showing off some of her cute poses for the camera.

▼ While this cosplayer brought Nico to life in a different outfit instead.

▼ Not to be left out, Kotori Minami from the series was also there, in a pretty purple-hued number.

From the green eyes to the light yellow highlights in her hair, this cosplayer has covered all the details for Freyja Wion from Macross Delta.

Others simply showed their love for schoolgirl outfits, like this girl, who chose to walk her own path in an “original” creation not modelled on any one particular character.

Catgirl Dejiko, from the series Di Gi Charat Nyo! took a day out from princess training to greet fans at the convention.

She was joined by Hikaru, who unfortunately wasn’t giving away any mini packs of tissues on the street as she does in the series.

▼ Inazuma from the game and anime series Kantai Collection, or KanColle, also made an appearance.

▼ As did Super Sonico, in this flesh-baring outfit.

▼ There was Emilia from Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World.

▼ And Nami from One Piece.

▼ Along with Tama, from KanColle

▼ And Shiina, the star of the rhythmic gymnastics club, from virtual dating game Girl Friend Beta.

Rather than show off her stunning “outdoor” look, this cosplayer chose to channel the bratty “indoor” persona of Umaru Doma, the main protagonist of the Himouto! Umaru-chan series.

Singer Maria Cadenzavna Eve from anime TV series Symphogear wowed fans with her cute pastel outfit and long coral-coloured tresses.

While this girl brought some feminine curves to male character Trafalgar Law from One Piece.

▼ Revy from Black Lagoon showed off her guns.

▼ Chiaki Nanami from Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc kept things cool in the shade.

Rem from Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World sweltered in the heat with an impressive outfit.

Keeping her company with an equally cute outfit was Junko Enoshima from Danganronpa.

And all that was just a snippet of the action from day one! With Comiket 90 running until Sunday, we’re sure there’ll be plenty more characters and outfits coming soon, so watch this space for more details!

Photos © RocketNews24

Name: Games and Gears Anime Battle Boards Kickstarter
Company: Games and Gears
MSRP: Never Going To Be Released. This is part of a failed kickstarter that they never finished shipping the other parts.

Yes Folks…Another Factored post about Re:zero

Hi..Neko-Desu Here

Back with some Re:Zero stuff to bring home

Re:Zero is really famous now…Because It’s actually like SAO, Nisekoi and Log Horizon, It’s a big hit to the fans.

I, also am a fan of Re:Zero, even in the convention..I held a sign that says:

“Rem is Best Girl, Subaru is Gay”

Being a big Re:Zero fan…Every Re:Zero fan knows who best girl is…It’s Emilia  Rem!

Rem has been a REALLY BIG part of the series and she is also known as BEST GRILL!

But little do you know that there are more than 1 Rem in the series..There are actually 5 Rems! I’ll tell you why

When Subaru dies..Another Timeline starts

The Five Rems are really different and has very distinguished features from one another

The First Rem aka Rem-Rin

Is the First Rem who Trusted Subaru, But she got turned around after Subaru’s Smell and She killed Subaru that time (The smell of the witch)

The Second and Third Rem aka Rem-san

Rem-san here is the one who didn’t trusted Subaru and tried to kill him. They are different. Rem (2nd) Didn’t trusted him at all and was all like kill kill kill and The Rem (3rd) Is the one the didn’t trusted him but in the end trusted him.

The Fourth Rem aka Rem

The fourth Rem is the one who loves Subaru but doesn’t follow him that much. She admires Subaru’s bravery for protecting her and realizing that she loves him

The Fifth Rem aka BEST GIRL or Rem

Rem is the one who follows him around and Protects him. This Rem is the one who people call Best Girl because she has the thing called “Moe Factor” That gives her character uniqueness and personality

But all in all, Rem is still the best girl We all love to love and We still hate Subaru for it. Rem is one of the best characters in anime we seen soo far..Don’t let her go. She might be the waifu of the year!

That’s all! Gomenasai~

Nyaa~

A classic anime, and the first of it’s kind to try to emulate the American Superhero genre, this series has stood the test of time since 1972! Gatchaman centers around five young people employed by Kōzaburō Nambu of the fictitious International Science Organization to oppose an international terrorist organization of technologically advanced villains known as Galactor who are trying to control Earth’s natural resources. The leader of this evil society is an androgynous, masked antagonist named Berg Kattse acting on the orders of an alien superior called Sosai X.
Originally published by: Tatsunoko Productions
This is the series that first got me interested in the anime style and genre, when I watched it many years ago as a child, aired on American television as Battle of the Planets. It has since been re-released under the titles of G-Force: Guardians of Space, Eagle Riders and Battle of the Planets: Phoenix Ninjas. The environmental saving messages that are conveyed through the story line, the sleek lines of craft and costuming, and even the fantastic array of colors initially attracted me to the show, and every so often I come back to watch it again, noting how the forms and lines have changed over the years, but there is still a quintessential aesthetic style that emanates in all anime today.
If you haven’t seen this one, you’re missing out. It can feel dated and simple, in some ways, but is a great romp with true flare. That’s why I give it 4 of 5 stars, even after all these years.

“Beware the Physical Exam!”

[Spoilers Ahoy!] -and lots of screenshots this time! I couldn’t resist!

• I love this theme song TOO much.
• The cherry blossoms are so prett—THAT INTRO. Oh, Tamaki, at least you know that you all have way too much time on your hands.
• “Welcome, ladies!” Soft smile for the sweet goofiness that is OHSOH.
• “So in what cup would my princess like her tea…?” I’m thinking, “She wants to drink it from your mouth!” Also, “Suzy Cooper Gardenia”–lol
• Clearly a tea cup does not compare to a princess. That is what you say.
• “Kaoru!” Let the hilarity begin. The faces of those girls. Then the twins change animation style in the background. A+. I’m surprised that the long haired girl isn’t spouting a nose bleed like Sunako from “The Wallflower.” :P
• Beauty is fleeting; let me sell you picture books for $19.95.-Kyoya
• “Well, now we know how the club makes extra money. But I have to wonder…/…When did he take pictures of us?” That lack of concern.
• Oh, my goodness. The drama. “Mitsukuni, you over did it.” The horror, the horror!
• Haruhi: “Oh, wow, Senpai. You’re blooming in more ways than one.” Tamaki: “You noticed!”
• Tamaki: “Say, Mommy dear?” Kyoya: “What is it now, Daddy?” A) That line is hilarious. B) After hearing Kyoya’s voice actor ( J. Michael Tatum) talk about the trouble he had keeping that line sounding clean, it just made it even more funny.
• Haruhi: Who are you calling ‘Daddy?’
• This image
• Kanji for ‘naked’ and roses in the background. *chokes on laughter*
• They all look so horrified at the thought of Haruhi being exposed as a woman and then there are Kyoya and Mori. Kyoya- scribbes in notebook, Mori serious face says, *not letting that happen, no way*
• Tamaki’s mind theatre!!
• Tamaki is a awesome. I am torn between laughing at all his overly romantic lines and loving every single one in reality. If I were an anime character, I’d probably be a Tamaki because he means well and has a good heart, but he’s also ridiculous and is ALL DRAMA, ALL THE TIME. ♡
• Haru: “I’m in love-love with you Tamaki-sempai!” Tama: “Oh, you!”
• OKAY, THIS is one of the best bits that Ouran does. It breaks the 4th wall and makes fun of itself in the best ways. Tama: “This anime is obviously a romantic school comedy! Haruhi and I are the main characters, so that means we are love interests.” Twins: “Yeah, then what are we?” Tama: “You boys are the homosexual supporting cast. So please make sure that you don’t step across this line.”
• Honey’s deformed hand?
• Someone would declare their undying love for her at least ONCE A MONTH?
• Tamaki: “So please, promise you’ll stay our beloved secret princess!” Haru: *blink blink* “Sure.”
• Man, Haruhi can be obtuse. Yes, dear, your debt. THAT is obviously why they care.
• Fancy. Tuna.     Mori is clearly a genious. Just when you think he doesn’t really care.
• THAT FACE IS TERRIFYING FKFHDJFBKNRH ROLL
• The host club members’ faces as she is denying being a glutton are great.
• Cosplay.
• Kyoya is suspicious…curious? Yeah, more curious. To be suspicious, he’d have to actually care about what the man was doing there.
• The roses and sparkles. *laughing*
• Even Honey in the background is going, “WHAT?”
• Kyoya: “Physical exam day is quite popular with the ladies.” Haruhi: “What’s wrong with three girls at this school?” Me: *laughs so hard that Teddy Gram starts to go down wrong pipe*
• Those boys. Oh, my jeez. Toying with my body. Oh, jeez. *wheeze laughing* *dies*
• *recessitated because Tama-chan has been waiting for his princess*
• Tama-drama
• I’m kind of internal fangirling when he says that he will protect her. No lie. It makes my heart a little squishy.
• Is Tamaki cosplaying as Haruhi? *dies*
• “IT’S PAYBACK FOR CALLING US THE HOMOSEXUAL SUPPORTING CAST.” Their mouths! *crying*
• Demon eyes.
• Special boys clinic. ;P Haruhi is definitely a…special?…boy.
• “I JUST DON’T THINK I’M SUPPORTING CAST, HOMOSEXUAL OR OTHERWISE.” -I feel like there should be a wink there! This is hilarious because J. Michael Tatum (Kyoya voice) is gay, and Kyoya is firmly main cast. Also, Tatum’s PERSONAL  (not author’s opinion, just the way Tatum played him) take on Kyoya is that the character is actually gay.
• Tamaki is eroding away! ;p This is the clip that my anime-hating husband saw and actually agreed to start watching Ouran. :P
• “Do you think it was a pervert?” looooool
• “Tell me, miss, did you happen to catch where the pervert doctor was headed?” Looooooooooooool
• “HARUHI!”
• BUM BUM BUM
• “Tama-chan kick!!!” YES.
• 1. Good looks that attract the public eye. 2. More wealth than you can imagine. (Kyoya looks so freaking bad a$$ here.) 3. Chivalry that will never be able to over look…/ the hideous wickedness of this world. 4. THAT’S WHAT MAKES UP THE OURAN HOST CLUB! “WE ARE HERE. WATCH OUT.”
• Haruhi is in such shock. Like….what just happened?
• Yabu means “quack”-had to look that one up
• Yabu’s mind theatre
• Pelted by rain, and mistaken for a pervert.
• THAT’S SO TRAGIC!!! Hehe
• And Tamaki does good again ♡
• Haruhi: “HEY, DON’T TOUCH ME THERE!!” Twins: “Red card! Looks like Tamaki-sempai/ is the real pervert!”
• 🎶”BUM BUM BUM/ BUM BUM BUM! I run and run a thousand miles….!”🎶
  

  ---

  Well, episode 3 is over! I could just not resist including all the screen shots in this post, so my apologies if they became excessive. :P This show is one of the best I’ve ever seen. 100/10, and this isn’t even the best episode!

  What do you think?

-Shoujothoughts (or shojothoughts, still working that one out)

#anime #comedy #ouran #ouranhighschoolhostclub #reverseharem #romance #romcom #spoilers #watchalong

So I just watched the first four (chronological) episodes of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and it’s good. But only good because I’M DROPPING IT WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!

I watched this series for fun and wasn’t taking notes, so don’t expect a hugely in-depth  analysis. Nevertheless, since I dropped Haruhi, I’ll try my best to explain my feelings. Expect spoilers though. But you’ve probably seen this legendary anime already. If not, here’s a MAL synopsis:

Kyon, your typical high school student, has long given up his belief in the supernatural. However, upon meeting Haruhi Suzumiya, he quickly finds out that it is the supernatural that she is interested in—aliens, time travelers, and espers among other things. When Haruhi laments about the lack of intriguing clubs around school, Kyon inspires Haruhi to form her own club. As a result, the SOS Brigade is formed, a club which specializes in all that is the supernatural.

Much to his chagrin, Kyon, along with the silent bookworm, Yuki Nagato, the shy and timid Mikuru Asahina, and the perpetually smiling Itsuki Koizumi, are recruited as members. The story follows the crazy adventures that these four endure under their whimsical leader, Haruhi. The story is based on the light novels by Nagaru Tanigawa.

Seems good, but what the synopsis doesn’t tell you is that Haruhi is actually some sort of godlike being, Nagato is an alien, Mikuru is a time traveler, and Koizumi is an esper. …This is a bit much. Now, I knew that supernatural elements existed in the show’s universe ahead of time, but it still always rubbed me the wrong way. Can this wacky premise contain a story that resonates with me? Too late now.

So what exactly bothered me? A few things. First, with the story centered around supernatural beings observing the mysterious and potentially dangerous energy that is Haruhi, the show therefore also centers heavily on Kyon. Numerous “high school students” confess their true identity to Kyon because he was apparently chosen by the God Haruhi. This strikes as too escapist for me. With all of the ridiculous yet “totally awesome” shenanigans going on in the show, straight man Kyon seems too much like an wish-fulfillment audience proxy. Even when he makes self-aware remarks on how ridiculous this all is, it doesn’t vindicate what seems like pandering.

Speaking of Kyon, I feel like he is a victim of the Seinfeld effect. After Haruhi took the anime world by storm, there have been abundant MCs who flaunt the “high school cynic” character trope. However, the fact that this trope has been done to death doesn’t invalidate Kyon; he’s just not special anymore. Nevertheless, his monologues can verge on tedium; his incessant need to mentally comment on everything doesn’t really amuse me. Unfortunately, I can’t point to specific examples because I’m too lazy, but there were scenes that could have simply spoken for themselves.

Still, Kyon isn’t unlikable. He is the most conventionally reasonable and explicitly sympathetic character on the show. His attempts to make Haruhi see reality are  good natured and somewhat agreeable. Besides Kyon and Haruhi, the other characters aren’t as compelling yet. Nagato is a ”Data Overmind Humanoid Interface.” In other words: hard to relate to. Koizumi we haven’t seen much of yet. And Mikiru’s only purpose seems to be for Kyon to have a perpetually flustered love interest.

Perhaps my biggest, most encompassing complaint has to do with the execution of the premise. Because of the heavy supernatural elements, there is a lot of sci-fi exposition. Exposition that disrupts the show. I think the reason why the external plot elements don’t work is because they are introduced abruptly. At the beginning, it just seems like a bunch of high schoolers ready to learn about life. Yay! But nope, aliens! Oh… ok…

If you’re going to have aliens and other supernatural crap in your show, then in my opinion, it’d be in your best interest to have them integrated organically rather than just SURPRISE!!!! That way we can understand the logic of the show’s world and, more importantly, empathize with what’s going on. And as of now: it’s hard to empathize with all of these extraneous, inhuman elements. When Asakura wanted to kill Kyon in order to provoke a reaction from Haruhi (yeah, not your typical daily happening), part of me said “screw it” and wished it would happen. At least then I’d get something human. And the whole “Haruhi and Kyon are the key to everything” fetish that I complained about earlier only multiplies the problem.

The ending of episode four was the final nail in the coffin for me. An older Mikiru comes back in time to faint at Kyon and warn him of an upcoming danger, if only to further prove how much of a non-character she is. And then Nagato walks in, and Kyon says something like, “See, you do look better without glasses!” …How could a data alien, who has been show thus far to not have emotions, even react to that? And what’s Kyon trying to prove? That she has emotions deep down? Is that what we’re supposed to assume? About a fucking alien? Dropped. Unbelievable.

…That was pretty harsh, and the show probably didn’t deserve that. If there’s one good thing I could say about the show, it’s Haruhi herself. I mean, despite the fact that she wholeheartedly believes in the supernatural, she behaves like a normal high schooler. And I find her faith in aliens, time travelers, and espers strangely inspiring (and by extension, her personality too). If the show was just about Haruhi and Kyon without all of that sci-fi bullshit, I’d be happy. Well, I guess Chuu2 did that same general idea later, but that main pair ain’t no Haruhi and Kyon.

So I guess Haruhi’s stuck with this premise. And here’s where I ask you readers: is the show worth continuing anyway? Apparently Kyon and Haruhi kiss in episode six, but I don’t exactly know how it’s executed or what it means in the show’s context. In any case, it’s progress. And of course, I keep hearing Disappearance is amazing. The point is, maybe where I stopped watching just happened to be where the show was at its lowest. Maybe the sci-fi elements are humanized enough later so that I can be truly invested. Maybe the exposition was a necessary evil that finally stops. Maybe the show gets better.

Or maybe I’m just stupid and unfair.

…

P.S. Finding pictures on google images is getting ridiculous at this point. I didn’t even bother looking on 4chan this time. Where do people get the screencaps? Does everyone seriously take their own? Do they have to be of the highest quality? Ugh.