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I have been too swamped with life to keep up my LJ/DJ with any diligence, so having a slightly quieter weekend, I want to do a recap of some of the media I have been experiencing: Below the cut, expect possible spoilers for:
Anime:
Mushishi
Kino's Journey
Darker than Black
Movie:
Bright Star
Book:
Little Dorrit
Mushishi
Wandering fellow who is an expert in mushi (bug spirits) helps people deal with their mushi problems. This must be a fantastic anime or I wouldn't have fallen in love with it--because it is utterly episodic and gives its sole main character almost no development, in terms of growth over the series. Usually, those are big turn-offs for me. But Mushishi does almost everything so well that it sucks you in moment-to-moment irrespective of any big long-term payoff (there is none). Most of the half-hour episodes are well-crafted stories with well-depicted guest characters dealing with trials and travails that usually contain solid ecological messages. Perhaps the best part of Mushishi is its ecological ethic, which is extremely respectful of ecological relationships without romanticizing them. One could do a lot of ecocriticism on this series.
Ginko, as the sole main character, is well developed if almost wholly static. He's probably one of the least dysfunctional characters I've ever liked, but he's not perfect and he has his hardships, which surface ever and anon. Mushishi annoys me slightly when Ginko gets to lecturing people on the error of their ways; thankfully, they sometimes call him on this strain of sanctimony, which is itself a believable trait for him to have acquired. But the true golden moments of Mushishi are, unsurprisingly, those that involve Ginko personally in the story, of which the story of Tanyuu is (to me) foremost.
This series gets classified as seinen, which I can only attribute to the notion that any anime aimed at adults that is not BL or about girls getting married is automatically filed under "aimed at men" on the theory that women care about nothing but marriage, babies, and men having sex with men. I suspect (though I could be wrong) that this series appeals more to women. Its female characters (and female agency in general) are fantastic, and it's an interesting fantasy of an almost sexually egalitarian traditional Japan that invokes meaningfully, if not wholly realistically, the kind of egalitarian power sharing that comes from cooperating to raise a family in a rural, traditional setting.
Kino's Journey
Girl wanders from land to land in a steampunk world observing different aspects (good and bad) of the human spirit. This anime is often compared to Mushishi: both are wholly episodic stories of a single traveler. Both are very good. Mushishi is better. But if Kino's Journey is a little uneven and sometimes verges on dull, it is, in the main very impressive, not least for its gender work.
It is not clear at first that Kino is a girl, and I remember reflecting in the first couple of episodes that there's no reason this character should be a boy and why is it that all the interesting, non-stereotypical characters always default to male? And then she turned out to be a girl, and I knew my prayers had been answered. In fact, they handle her gender (in a fairly conventionally gendered world) in a very plausible fashion. She's clearly chosen to take on "male" traits of dress and habit, though she's far from the only woman in her world to do so, yet she does not reject being female, doesn't really hide it, and undeniably has a life experience that is informed by it: from her identification with other female characters to her occasional (and interesting in its rarity) pigeonholing as a woman, as when the mad king wants to marry her or the arguably murderous mother tells her she'll feel differently about killing to save one's own children once she has a baby. Well worth watching.
I want a fic that features Kino and Brandon Heat.
Darker Than Black
After some weird, Earth-altering effect, people called "contractors," who have super powers, tangle with each other to figure out things about the effect and stuff. I am destined not to get through this story, so my thoughts will be a little uninformed. I'm a bit surprised it's praised so highly. I find it confusing, rambling, devoid of significant character development (for the most part), and very uneven: some episodes are quite good. My biggest frustration is that, really, I like our hero, Hei. He has the potential to be an awesome anti-hero: dark but not evil, emotionally troubled but cold (and occasionally warmer), loyal but untrustworthy, formidable in battle but also very tricky in mundane seductions--and a good cook. But we keep not seeing any interesting development. I made it was far as episode 14, which many assert is one of the best in the series (it was good), and by this point, I ought to be seeing something. What I get is more of the same: more contractors and ordinary humans introduced and killed off before we get a chance to know them, while our main characters keep "working for the syndicate" (for aims I can't bring myself to try very hard to figure out) whilst having no meaningful relationships or developmental experiences. It may change in later episodes, but for now, I don't care enough to plug on.
(My dad called this the worst anime he's ever seen, and he finds most anime unappealing.)
Bright Star
Keats dies. Did I spoil that for you? This biopic shows Fanny Brawne's perspective on their romance. I'd heard it was good and went into it expecting to be pleased. It blew me away. It is very nearly flawless. (I say that not having read much Keats biography, so it may be I enjoyed it more than someone who has studied Keats and could pick up all the fictionalization.) The structure of a "love triangle" between Keats, Brown, and Fanny, with B and F both loving K and detesting each other was original and very well executed. We're mainly in Fanny's POV, which may contribute to Brown's coming off as such a crass bastard, yet his character, too, is sympathetic. His love for Keats is plain, and we get interesting glimpses of their shared love of poetry, just for a second, before Fanny "intrudes" (in Brown's view), and the poetry must be set aside.
Fanny is a phenomenally well-executed character. On paper, she looks exactly as Brown describes her: someone who doesn't know how to do anything but flirt and sew. She's outgoing, clothes oriented (pretty but not wildly beautiful), popular, good at dancing, not very well read, not interested in poetry, not at all the sort of person from whom one expects "romantic sympathy" with one of the great romantic poets. But a person--any person--amounts to more than a resume: Fanny is also very strong, loyal, loving, intelligent, insightful, sensible, supportive of family and friends. One does, indeed, understand what Keats sees in her. Ultimately, their relationship is not about poetry; it's about people. Love needn't be based primarily on common talents or interests: just ask any slash writer who married a computer programmer. This movie captures the reality of human relationships beautifully, including those among Fanny's family members. Family is everywhere here. We are constantly reminded that life, love, poetry don't exist in a vacuum apart from social networks. Very skillfully handled.
Little Dorrit
I tend to prefer Dickens shorter, but this lengthy novel has made its way up to number 3 on my Dickens list (after Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities and edging in ahead of A Christmas Carol and Hard Times). I usually find Dickens' romances annoying, but Arthur and Amy are charming. Both are well-developed characters, who are an unlikely pair given the difference in their ages, but who are so much kindred spirits that one is happy to see them wander off into poverty and happiness together. I also love Mrs. Clennam (Arthur's mum); Dickens roundly criticizes her, but he doesn't make her a Miss Havisham. She has her virtues too, and I see her in Arthur's character: in his seriousness, his devotion to duty, his moral scruples. The satirizing seems a little lighter in this book than is Dickens' wont, and there is a nice balance between Dickensian humor and psychological realism.
One question: why is the irrepressible Flora the only one who shows any interest in Arthur's twenty years in China? Dickens makes her figure of fun, but is it really so supercilious to want to know about the foreign country that's shaped two decades of an acquaintance's life? (Yes, I do know the answer to this question.)
Anime:
Mushishi
Kino's Journey
Darker than Black
Movie:
Bright Star
Book:
Little Dorrit
Mushishi
Wandering fellow who is an expert in mushi (bug spirits) helps people deal with their mushi problems. This must be a fantastic anime or I wouldn't have fallen in love with it--because it is utterly episodic and gives its sole main character almost no development, in terms of growth over the series. Usually, those are big turn-offs for me. But Mushishi does almost everything so well that it sucks you in moment-to-moment irrespective of any big long-term payoff (there is none). Most of the half-hour episodes are well-crafted stories with well-depicted guest characters dealing with trials and travails that usually contain solid ecological messages. Perhaps the best part of Mushishi is its ecological ethic, which is extremely respectful of ecological relationships without romanticizing them. One could do a lot of ecocriticism on this series.
Ginko, as the sole main character, is well developed if almost wholly static. He's probably one of the least dysfunctional characters I've ever liked, but he's not perfect and he has his hardships, which surface ever and anon. Mushishi annoys me slightly when Ginko gets to lecturing people on the error of their ways; thankfully, they sometimes call him on this strain of sanctimony, which is itself a believable trait for him to have acquired. But the true golden moments of Mushishi are, unsurprisingly, those that involve Ginko personally in the story, of which the story of Tanyuu is (to me) foremost.
This series gets classified as seinen, which I can only attribute to the notion that any anime aimed at adults that is not BL or about girls getting married is automatically filed under "aimed at men" on the theory that women care about nothing but marriage, babies, and men having sex with men. I suspect (though I could be wrong) that this series appeals more to women. Its female characters (and female agency in general) are fantastic, and it's an interesting fantasy of an almost sexually egalitarian traditional Japan that invokes meaningfully, if not wholly realistically, the kind of egalitarian power sharing that comes from cooperating to raise a family in a rural, traditional setting.
Kino's Journey
Girl wanders from land to land in a steampunk world observing different aspects (good and bad) of the human spirit. This anime is often compared to Mushishi: both are wholly episodic stories of a single traveler. Both are very good. Mushishi is better. But if Kino's Journey is a little uneven and sometimes verges on dull, it is, in the main very impressive, not least for its gender work.
It is not clear at first that Kino is a girl, and I remember reflecting in the first couple of episodes that there's no reason this character should be a boy and why is it that all the interesting, non-stereotypical characters always default to male? And then she turned out to be a girl, and I knew my prayers had been answered. In fact, they handle her gender (in a fairly conventionally gendered world) in a very plausible fashion. She's clearly chosen to take on "male" traits of dress and habit, though she's far from the only woman in her world to do so, yet she does not reject being female, doesn't really hide it, and undeniably has a life experience that is informed by it: from her identification with other female characters to her occasional (and interesting in its rarity) pigeonholing as a woman, as when the mad king wants to marry her or the arguably murderous mother tells her she'll feel differently about killing to save one's own children once she has a baby. Well worth watching.
I want a fic that features Kino and Brandon Heat.
Darker Than Black
After some weird, Earth-altering effect, people called "contractors," who have super powers, tangle with each other to figure out things about the effect and stuff. I am destined not to get through this story, so my thoughts will be a little uninformed. I'm a bit surprised it's praised so highly. I find it confusing, rambling, devoid of significant character development (for the most part), and very uneven: some episodes are quite good. My biggest frustration is that, really, I like our hero, Hei. He has the potential to be an awesome anti-hero: dark but not evil, emotionally troubled but cold (and occasionally warmer), loyal but untrustworthy, formidable in battle but also very tricky in mundane seductions--and a good cook. But we keep not seeing any interesting development. I made it was far as episode 14, which many assert is one of the best in the series (it was good), and by this point, I ought to be seeing something. What I get is more of the same: more contractors and ordinary humans introduced and killed off before we get a chance to know them, while our main characters keep "working for the syndicate" (for aims I can't bring myself to try very hard to figure out) whilst having no meaningful relationships or developmental experiences. It may change in later episodes, but for now, I don't care enough to plug on.
(My dad called this the worst anime he's ever seen, and he finds most anime unappealing.)
Bright Star
Keats dies. Did I spoil that for you? This biopic shows Fanny Brawne's perspective on their romance. I'd heard it was good and went into it expecting to be pleased. It blew me away. It is very nearly flawless. (I say that not having read much Keats biography, so it may be I enjoyed it more than someone who has studied Keats and could pick up all the fictionalization.) The structure of a "love triangle" between Keats, Brown, and Fanny, with B and F both loving K and detesting each other was original and very well executed. We're mainly in Fanny's POV, which may contribute to Brown's coming off as such a crass bastard, yet his character, too, is sympathetic. His love for Keats is plain, and we get interesting glimpses of their shared love of poetry, just for a second, before Fanny "intrudes" (in Brown's view), and the poetry must be set aside.
Fanny is a phenomenally well-executed character. On paper, she looks exactly as Brown describes her: someone who doesn't know how to do anything but flirt and sew. She's outgoing, clothes oriented (pretty but not wildly beautiful), popular, good at dancing, not very well read, not interested in poetry, not at all the sort of person from whom one expects "romantic sympathy" with one of the great romantic poets. But a person--any person--amounts to more than a resume: Fanny is also very strong, loyal, loving, intelligent, insightful, sensible, supportive of family and friends. One does, indeed, understand what Keats sees in her. Ultimately, their relationship is not about poetry; it's about people. Love needn't be based primarily on common talents or interests: just ask any slash writer who married a computer programmer. This movie captures the reality of human relationships beautifully, including those among Fanny's family members. Family is everywhere here. We are constantly reminded that life, love, poetry don't exist in a vacuum apart from social networks. Very skillfully handled.
Little Dorrit
I tend to prefer Dickens shorter, but this lengthy novel has made its way up to number 3 on my Dickens list (after Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities and edging in ahead of A Christmas Carol and Hard Times). I usually find Dickens' romances annoying, but Arthur and Amy are charming. Both are well-developed characters, who are an unlikely pair given the difference in their ages, but who are so much kindred spirits that one is happy to see them wander off into poverty and happiness together. I also love Mrs. Clennam (Arthur's mum); Dickens roundly criticizes her, but he doesn't make her a Miss Havisham. She has her virtues too, and I see her in Arthur's character: in his seriousness, his devotion to duty, his moral scruples. The satirizing seems a little lighter in this book than is Dickens' wont, and there is a nice balance between Dickensian humor and psychological realism.
One question: why is the irrepressible Flora the only one who shows any interest in Arthur's twenty years in China? Dickens makes her figure of fun, but is it really so supercilious to want to know about the foreign country that's shaped two decades of an acquaintance's life? (Yes, I do know the answer to this question.)