The Blue Fox Alley » Where is the fanservice?

NANA 1-5: Oddly captivating

The Sojourner — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 06:47:55 +0000

I should be the last man on Earth to start on NANA but that does not mean my love for it will lose to any other fan! NEVER!

Awareness of NANA came by chance when after watching the live film adaptation a year ago. Although movies have their limits to fully bring out the details of a tale, there was decency in the NANA movie in presenting so many events within its 2 hour span without a great compromise in its smoothness. Having seen it, I was interested in knowing how would the anime version fare.

Honestly, I am a person whose attention can be easily bribed by superficial plot devices and special effects like DIVINEEEEEE BUSSSSTEEEER. That is why a lack of them requires someone else to compensate for it, and usually it is done by offering enthralling story telling. To enable a story which such an ordinary setting, neither science fiction nor fantasy, to become capable of seizing the viewers is not a easy task. NANA is not meant to be exciting as a story, it aims and is engrossing in a very relaxed way. Such a feeling has not been felt since my days of watching Nodame Cantabile or Maria Sama Ga Miteru.

As soon as NANA begins, it jumps straight into a short flash back arc to explain the history of the two girls. As much as it is informative, it faced the danger of boring viewers but the arc was capable of easing it by constantly relating viewers back to present time with narration by Nana Komatsu. Having pulled it off fairly decently, there was a significant boost to the emotional investment that viewers place in the characters.

Through the first 5 episodes, we explore deeper into the history of Nana Komatsu and it clearly presents her personality. She is naive. Check. Whimsical. Check. Impressionable. Check. Lively. Check. Her romantic notion of seeking happiness beyond the norm of a career and a place in society renders her an odd ball amongst us all. In fact, the extremity of her character is so great that I am keen on labelling her as a plot device to blatantly present the idealistic facet of people’s personality. She is so likable, facepalmable and very unrealistic!

Nana Osaki, on the other hand, seems to play it within the boundaries of a character of plausibly acceptable dynamics in her interactions and decision making. As a defiantly independent lady, her exudes a form of charisma that is hard to resist. And it is through the flashback of her story that creates a mysterious aura around the usually reticent but furious in personality Nana.

And with that, I shall open my next DVD volume to carry on with my journey.

Tsurumoku Dokushinryou: A manga serving good coffee with a mess tin

The Sojourner — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:56:07 +0000

Kimi wa dare to kisu wo suru?

When you think of romance comedy, what would be the titles that cross your mind? Most probably for recent fans of the Japanese visual culture, the answer would probably be Love Hina or Suzuka to a lesser extent (since Suzuka is more inclined towards being serious in its theme of romance as compared to Love Hina). Fans of romance comedy enjoy it because it brings parental warmth or simply joy to watch the growth of the main couple develop feelings for each other while trying to overcome a series of obstacles that prevents them from getting together. I am guilty of that as well.

Usually when I find myself engaged in a conversation that goes like ‘SO WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MANGA TITLE?’ or something along that line, I would bring up the name ‘Tsurumoku Dokushinryou’ and it has a 98.72% chance of baffling whomever I am speaking to. Tsuru-what is the common reply as the title is an extremely old piece of work. I might be accused of being impishly elitist for doing so (which I might have to admit being so) but Tsurumoku Dokushinryou is indeed a manga that has left a strong impression in me and it is the reason why I am writing a darn post about it.

Allow me to provide a bit of information in regards to this work before I move onto why I am spurred to recommend it to fellow appreciators of the visual culture. If you are not interested, you are welcome to skip this paragraph. Well then! Tsurumoku Dokushinryou -ツルモク独身寮-, also known as The Tsurumoku Bachelors’ Dormitory, is a romance manga with a dash of comedy to it. Published in the 1980s, it was drawn by Eisaku Kubonouchi and lasted for 12 volumes. AnimeNfo claims that it has 11 volumes but I have the entire series in my room and I think I possess at least the counting ability of a kindergardener to affirm that it has 12 volumes in total. Well that was not too long right?

The Plot:

After graduating from high school, Shota Miyagawa leaves his hometown to work near Tokyo. He leaves behind him the responsibility of succeeding his father’s small furniture store and his childhood sweetheart, Tomomi Sakurai. *Note: I am writing the names of the characters in the order of first name following by last name. Sorry weaboos. XD*

He becomes a blue collar worker in a well known furniture company known as Tsurumoku Furniture and is assigned to live in the Tsurumoku male dormitory. It is in the dormitory where he meets interesting characters like playboy Kyousuke Sugimoto and grumpy Shigeo Tabatake. And his life will never be the same when he finds himself falling for the beautiful office lady Miyuki Himeno who lives in the ladies’ dormitory just opposite the men’s. Shota would eventually find his stay in the Tsurumoku company the most fulfilling days of his life as he experiences the bittersweetness of love and the challenges of life.

A serious take on coming of age, Tsurumoku Dokushinryou is also capable of being light hearted at times.

The Characters:

Shota Miyagawa- The protagonist of the story. He was only 18 when he left his home to travel all the way to Tokyo to seek a job and a place in society. Young and naive, Shota probably was not willing to settle down and that prompted him to adventurously seek his own world.

While working as a simple worker in the manufacturing branch of Tsurumoku Furniture, he proves to have a talent in designing furniture himself and his ability was acknowledged by the mangement when his design was used.

For almost the entirety of the manga, Shota struggles with his indecisiveness to choose between carrying on his relationship with the girlfriend whom he had left behind and starting a relationship with an older lady in Tsurumoku Furniture.

Miyuki Himeno- An office lady in Tsurumoku Furniture, Miyuki first met Shota, who is younger than her by a few years, when he had a glimpse of her through the window of Miyuki’s room. There were initial rumours that Shota is dating Miyuki because he was found in her room after the welcome party for new employees, the confusion was caused by a chain of funny events.

When Shota’s girlfriend travels to Tokyo to find him, Miyuki makes it clear that she neither is she dating Shota nor does she have feelings for him to ease the uncertainty of Shota’s girlfriend. However as the story progresses, she realises that she is beginning to like him.

Tomomi Sakurai- The girlfriend of Shota, she runs off to Tokyo to chase after Shota. Although Shota once assured her that he will never fall for another woman, Tomomi notices that she is slowly losing her place in Shota’s heart.

Emotionally vulnerable and guilible is Tomomi that Shota had to save her once from being raped by the colleagues of her workplace. When Shota starts to ignore her, Tomomi becomes more independent.

Kyousuke Sugimoto- Handsome and good with words, Kyousuke is the ultimate casanova. He is humourously depicted to be so attractive that he receives a heap of chocolates on Valentines Day every year and has slept with quite a lot of women. Mischevious in nature, Kyousuke shows his maturity once in a while by sharing some advice with Shota. Kyousuke’s playboy lifestyle would eventually be halted when he starts a rather reluctant relationship with the ugly but filthly rich Reiko Shiratorizawa.

Shigeo Tabatake- Lecherous and a grouch, Shigeo is one of the most senior denizens of the Tsurumoku dormitory for men. He is known to use a pair of binoculars to peep at ladies while they are changing their clothes. For that, he is rather unpopular with his female colleagues. Often the source of comic relief like Kyousuke, Shigeo is teased for having facial features of a monkey.

But he is bloody GAR.

Reiko Shiratorizawa- Reiko is the daughter of the head of the Shiratorizawa Group of Companies. So ugly she is that Kyousuke would freeze in terror when she touches him. She met Kyousuke when he took Shota to a bar to flirt with some women. Shota ended up talking to a beautiful lady, surprisingly being the younger sister of the not so good looking Shigeo, while Kyousuke stumbled across Reiko.

Very often or not, Reiko ‘cockblocks’ Kyousuke by intervening with his approaches on women very much similar in style to the random appearances of Fuuko of Clannad. Whimsical and very selfish, Reiko does not have a lot of appealing traits since she is ugly as well. But it is her love for Kyousuke that made the latter give up his lifestyle as a playboy.

Reflections:

This is probably one of those manga titles that would prompt you to scoff at newer works with a snide remark like ‘Bah! Those young whippersnappers!’. It is slice of life portrayed in a seinen light, and it has evidently set a certain standard for me when it comes to experiencing anime and manga of the same genre.

Putting the comical moments aside, Tsurumoku Dokushinryou is a captivating depiction of ordinary life. It is filled with mundanity and is often serious. Each character of the story is given a decent portion of attention to have a healthy development, so that readers are able to understand their personalities. It is so because it is the characters that drive the flow of the story, hence there is a stronger emphasis on the characters above the events and challenges they are facing.

But I would not declare that Tsurumoku Dokushinryou is much superior as a SoL story as compared to say works like Lucky Star simply because it is a seinen work. Its execution and presentation is like good ol’ mummy’s home cooked food while Lucky Star can be considered like food that people can enjoy together from those pizza places.

Shota would have to choose either Tomomi or Miyuki and his decision is more than just a simple conclusion for his romance for it is a significant indication of his growth from boy to man. Each experience, be it painful or wonderful, is more than just a passing moment but an engraving in each of the characters’ heart and memory that contributes to the shaping of their maturity. And while Shota’s romance is one of the main highlights of the story, other themes stand on equal ground in attention given so that it is not mainly just about who will Shota eventually end up with. Because of that, everyone in the story is not easily forgotten.

If you like a story that is not about moe-moe girls (lol. that was uncalled for) and do not mind rather old art work (but it ain’t so bad. Tomomi and Miyuki are pretty!), do give Tsurumoku Dokushinryou a try!

By the way, this story has a ‘beach episode’.

P.S

I do not know whether there are scans for this manga online. m( )m –Sorry

Calm yet riveting was how Banner of the Stars began

The Sojourner — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:00:59 +0000

It was not recent that I finished watching Crest of the Stars and it was like a sneak preview of many promises. That is why I had no doubts in moving onto Banner of the Stars, unlike my initial scepticism towards Nanoha A’s due to an average predecessor.

Crest of the Stars was the calm before the storm, as I sensed it to be, the build up for something grander in scale. No doubt about it, the normal humans do not like the Abhs so there will be war.

So what do I hope to expect from Banner of the Stars? Lots of explosions (doh), intensive conversations about military strategies that I probably will not understand due to my poor intellect or may not know whether they are feasible according to common sense and soldiers making reports like ‘WE ARE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT!’.

Just three episodes into the start of Banner of the Stars and I am captivated by the dynamics of the interactions between the characters. I mean, we will get to hear Jhinto rant a thousand times about how he wants to be there for Lafiel for all eternity but I was not expecting side characters to be so involved. It feels as if Jhinto and Lafiel are merely narrators of the story and the others are the true stars of the story. But I have only started so we shall see.

To support my claim that my memory is horrible, allow me to present with the fact that I cannot remember in which episode, 1 2 or 3 in this case, did the conversation between Spoor and her chief-of-star occurred. It was the one where our feisty lady lamented on how her deputy was not concise in his reports and teased him for his practices. That really made me laugh as it reminded me of my days as a conscripted loyal soldier of the Singapore Army. Although I was trained to fight, somehow I ended up being a personnel in the headquarters of an Army division. That means I am quite like a bridge bunny, except that I do not have boobs and I do not squeal with a cute voice. So whenever I was told to give a status report during a military exercise, my Officer in Command would demand something detailed while my Commanding Officer was more interested in replies like ‘Okay’ or ‘No problem, sir’. They tried to inoculate their various practices into me and it sort of made me a schizophrenic.

Looking at shows like Banner of the Stars and Escaflowne, I realise Sunrise has come a long way since. Sunrise was awesome and she is still in present times, just that there is a feel in its older works that is not present in current ones. Oh well. Sunrise still rocks my soul.

This picture of Lafiel sums up how I was feeling at that moment as I began my journey with Banner of the Stars.

The Ominous Prelude Of Kara No Kyoukai

The Sojourner — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:00:33 +0000

It offered nothing but an surreal touch.

Or I could say ‘I was WTFed by it and it was great’

So allow me to express my surprise towards how the first of a series of film-length animated shows of the TYPE-MOON tale -Kara No Kyoukai- was done. Mind you if you think otherwise, because I am not very well acquainted with TYPE-MOON so I would not possibly know how it ’should’ have been done. I did not read the novel.

It did not suck. It was not stellar. But it was definitely something.

Neither am I all out to criticise nor do I have the intention to exalt it. There is only my simple observation to be offered.

You know how most animes would have an explanation of certain fighting skills and the reasons for what has occurred? Well Kara No Kyoukai -Fukan Fuukei- does very little of that and we are plunged right into the midst of everything. The first chapter of the seven is even not the beginning of the story in terms of chronological order, as we see the characters (Touko, Mikiya and Shiki) all settled down in the atmosphere and doing their stuff.

The first chapter begins with no obvious introduction to the characters. One of them, Mikiya, did nothing much as he was in a coma. In fact, the story can be summarised simply as our tsundere female protagonist slicing up ‘ghosts’ on a ceiling while she and Touko attempt to solve a mysterious case of suicides.

So here is what annoyed some people- we have no idea why Shiki has those creepy eyes that distorts her perspective and the occupations of the three main characters are not specifically stated. We do not know what is going on! Although I am sure more information can be obtained from the official website and other sites but let us focus on Fukan Fuukei itself.

Before we question why the seemingly abrupt entry into the Kara No Kyoukai universe, perhaps we ought to ponder over the intentions of the director/writer in making this the first part of the entire story. I noticed the likelihood of getting disappointed if I were to watch a certain show with certain expectations of how it would turn out to be. Because very often or not, Murphy’s Law is in play and things will not go the way we want it to be. For example, I was initially very upset at Code Geass due to my obstinate expectations of it being an epic and serious show. I was wrong, it was not an epic show but an EPIC show. (epic and EPIC are two different categories. Also, an EPIC show is not an epic show of greater magnitude.)

What I am trying to say is watching a show is like going on a tour in a foreign country and the story itself is your tour guide. Just follow the guide’s instructions and stop your persistent demands on having Chinese food when there are already plans to head to an Italian restaurant. While I can understand the frustrations of some people after viewing Fukan Fuukei, I found myself much at ease by allowing the story to guide me without asking too many questions.

Apparently it is the plan that not too many details will be revealed in the first chapter, and it is this approach that can be considered as a double-edged sword. You will either be awed by the dark world of Kara No Kyoukai or find yourself shrugging frequently.

At this point, you would have notice that I have not really covered much about Fukan Fuukei except for the fact that it is rather ‘confusing’. Well because it is ‘confusing’, I cannot possible abstract any insights from the dynamics of the characters yet. I do not know why Shiki is such a reticent character. I do not know the role of Aozaki Touko in the story yet. And I do not know the relationship between Mikiya and Shiki.

Fukan Fuukei, in my mind, is not the beginning of the Kara No Kyoukai tale. But a small glimpse into the world that has spurred me to delve deeper into it. An ominous prelude indeed.

Oh by the way. The preview of the next chapter suggests that we will be going back in time to explore the background of our female protagonist Shiki. Perhaps that will satisfy those who are still willing to stay for the ride.

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ID Sojourner: And now for some silly screenshots! Incoming gay picture spamming!

That day, the eroge I had pre-ordered finally arrived.

So I made my way to the store hastily.

However

Something tells me…

I am not in Akiba.

I kid not.

As fear gripped as I had no knowledge of this place.

OMG. There are others who are lost as well.

Mummy once told me not to speak to strangers… but…

I had to help them!

Must help them… oh.. nevermind…

Somehow I got in. And the place is SO creepy! So I took out a knife and struck a cool pose while advancing deeper into building. I am like in a haunted mansion!

My scalp was itchy.

My back was violated.

‘GIVE ME YOUR NEW EROGE OR ELSE!’

‘NEVER!’

OMG. Someone failed to pre-order that game and wants to rob me!

‘Uh… at least lend it to me?’

WHAT! THAT IS EVEN WORSE!

‘THEN YOU SHALL BE PUNISHED!’

Somehow, I managed to escape and revenge was on my mind.

This time, I am wearing my lucky red jacket.

Practicing on my glare. I AM GUNDAM COOL.

There is a reason why I am wearing this raincoat.

‘I see you are back. And what is with the raincoat?’

So I can do THIS!

AND TO FEEL THE MOOD OF THIS FIGHT… ALLOW ME TO OFFER THIS PIECE OF MUSIC!

Now let us proceed! This is how it is done.

First I whip it out!

Then I thrust it!

With great force! Every angle…!

It penetrates!

Until…!

With great strength…!

I… ram it in!

In the end… we are all satisfied.

I use 50 mana points…

… and execute ‘force grip’.

Squiish!

Gyaaabooo!

THE END

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Hey Shiki! Yo Shiki!

What is it?

ID Sojourner tells me that they are gonna nerf your force grip in the next movie!

Nyoron~