In other words, “Random Post on Decidedly Unrelated Things”. Basically when I haven’t blogged in a long while I end up with a little growing pile of things-I-could-blog up somewhere in my brain, and at some point I get the lazy-man’s urge to just make a simple brain-dump post and write a summary of the entire pile and call it a day.
I have only partly succumbed to temptation here. Some stalwart part of me has successfully convinced the whole to hold back on talking about the current season’s anime offerings in inevitable haphazard fashion and instead save them for, hopefully, full posts. So let’s cross our fingers and hope for an eventual post each for OreImo, IkaMusume, and To Love Ru (yes, you can tell the state of my brain over the past semester from the anime I picked) – when I finish getting my new computer set up.
Yes. I got a new computer. Let me show you my desktop.
I can now die happy. And I now have very little desire to watch the stuff currently airing.
Sigh. Think about the inexorable, uplifting feeling that comes from the realization that you have just seen something beautiful; now think about the clenching feeling you get when you look forward and have no idea when you’ll see something quite like it again. Now imagine me letting all that out in that last sigh.
Okay, enough ranting. When Blurays/DVD’s are out I may do a proper post on it. But for now, if you happen to be in Singapore, it’s not too late. The show still screens for the next four days in a cozy though somewhat obscure place called Sinema. See here.
Wow, you don’t come across Miku-chan singing a Chinese song all the time. Probably not at all in fact, given the drama that accompanied this one. But I really, really like this piece. It’s a beautiful song, very poetic, very melodically emotive, and very Chinese. I also really like the simple but effective video that accompanies it, but what surprised me most was how amazingly well Miku sang it. Her voice and tone quality was nearly perfect – just that right balance of detachment and engagement to bring out the song’s sighing, gently wistful quality. Damn, I think she did this song better than just about every Japanese song I’ve ever heard her do, though I admittedly haven’t heard many.
This piece does have a somewhat tragic story though. Apparently the author put it up on NicoNico and got flamed into eventually removing it by a horde of anti-Chinese NicoNico users. Seems like there are Japanese out there who hate the Chinese as much as some Chinese hate the Japanese, at least in NicoNico. If you have a NicoNico account you can drop by the now defunct video page here to have a peek at the carnage. Frankly, I think it’s plain ridiculous. As a chink myself I’m aware of the Sino-Japan history of conflict, and if people want to take that seriously, fine. But where is the rationale in getting hostile over a musical work – a good one at that – just because it is written in the Chinese language and performed by a Japan-invented Vocaloid?
Although I haven’t heard many Vocaloid songs I really like the Vocaloid idea and find the effects of its adoption into popular culture very interesting. And I’m very impressed at how surprisingly well a Vocaloid programmed to only pronounce Japanese syllables is able to perform a Chinese song. Of course, she doesn’t pronounce very well, but I won’t expect a regular Japanese singer to be able to do better. I’d really like to see more such experimentation with the Vocaloids. So Mr Author if you’re anywhere out there, I hope you don’t get too discouraged. And to the folks who flamed this video out of NicoNico, random kittens explode in violent despair whenever you do inexplicably unintelligent things like that. THINK OF THE KITTIES!!
Btw, yes, I haven’t walked off a cliff. I’m still battling my Final Year Project for my life and sanity though, but assuming I don’t get slain in the next one or two weeks, I have a couple of posts I’d like to write, so yeah, this blog isn’t quite dead yet :) For anyone non-chinese who might be interested, the name of the song translated is “Moon. Xi River“. I’ve contemplated translating the lyrics too, but decided against it. Poetic lyrics like these are nigh impossible to translate without completely mangling it in the process, not without some decidedly ingenious (and likely inaccurate) ad-libing anyway.
PS: yes, I do think she did this song better than Jay Chou did comparable songs.
Or “Looking for a Lost Child”. As promised, this is Nanami’s song at the end of Katanagatari’s episode 7. Expectedly, the seemingly idyllic melody hides sorrowful lyrics, of death-seeking and final release. Very beautiful, very lonely song by Mai Nakahara, and the only song I heard this season that had a real chance against K-ON’s “No, Thank You”.
Anyway, it seems like official lyrics for the song has not been released yet, and the transcriptions I’ve found from fishing around vary slightly. I have chosen to use the one from here, which is the one my ear seems to agree with the most.
So here we go. As usual, hit F8 to hear the song while it’s up, and hit the jump for Romaji lyrics and translations – plus the usual bonus picture of course ;)
I probably shouldn’t be, but I’m a little surprised at the direction K-ON took entering its final quarter, partly I suppose because I heard that the source manga has just ended like within the last week or so, so I didn’t anticipate the anime to simultaneously gear shift towards an actual conclusion, much less a sappy one.
It’s always a supreme effort to blog Katanagatari somehow, but I knew I simply had to blog this episode, all the way back when I watched it.
The nice thing about Katanagatari is this – even blogging this episode now I’m only one episode late :) Still, it somewhat saddens me that we’ve (probably) passed the halfway mark now. I remember shows that climax at this precise mark and fail to rescale the zenith for the rest of the show. However even if Katanagatari finds itself destined to enter this category, we can nonetheless take comfort in one thing: what a climax it was!
Late as usual! But then it was pretty damn hard to finally decide on the Anisong of the Season this time round, actually.
I nearly gave it to “Brave Song”, the Angel Beats ED. I really like Listen!’s tune and I adore the awesome animation sequence that accompanies it, but Brave Song was itself a pretty great song and it had this really amazing resonance with Angel Beats and its themes that gave it an evocative, emotive power, something Listen! doesn’t quite enjoy as much with K-ON!! IMO. Ultimately though, it was the lyrics and lyrical arrangement that clinched it when I looked them up for this post.
Brave Song has great lyrics, but I really like the musical, rock spirit of Listen!’s. If you have not been paying attention to what Mio was singing in those ED’s I invite you to give my translation below a taste-over and see if you agree with me. The rhythmic way some words are slurred and hop-scotched over and the unstoppered gush during the chorus was great, and Yoko Hikasa just blitzing through the whole thing was fantastic. KyoAni’s composers sure know how to make Mio sound awesome.
… try and ignore the Engrish bits though, as usual ;)
Speaking of Angel Beats, that was quite the disappointment :( In a bizarre coincidence I had been doing a rewatch of Munto with a friend and at the end of Angel Beats I found that I had mostly similar complaints for both shows – not enough build-up and flesh-out, rushed pacing, bad endings. Just… wasted potential. Maybe I should do a rant-post on Angel Beats sometime.
Back on topic, I present you my chosen Anisong of the Season – Listen! ED to K-ON!!. The full version too for extra awesome. Hit the jump as usual for romaji lyrics and translations, and hit F8 to hear the track while it’s up.
(btw, did you see that new K-ON!! ED? I’m not sure I like the idea of giving away two Anisong of the Season awards to K-ON!!, but if an outstanding rival doesn’t appear soon…)
More than anything else to me, this was a Yurippe episode. In fact, I won’t be at all surprised if, underneath all of that ridiculous, shadow blighted plot twists we’re seeing now near the end, we are really secretly setting off on the final arc. Yurippe’s arc.
Thinking back on Yurippe’s life story, we are positioned to look upon Yurippe as an angry rebel seeking answers, seeking God that she may demand an explanation for the injustice visited upon her siblings. However at several critical moments it was hinted that Yurippe does not only have matters to settle with an external God, but also with her internal self. She was unable to protect her siblings, even though she was confident of herself as a good sister. She tried desperately hard, but to no avail. She probably didn’t think that she had already done the best possible job and that only God was to blame for what happened – she probably also resented her own inability to do what she thought needed to be done.
Along these lines it’s perhaps not inconceivable to think that Yurippe’s leadership of the SSS is in truth a part of her own subconscious journey towards finding peace. The SSS isn’t exactly a democracy or a republic, Yuri’s leadership over it is near-absolute. Her decision making is literally the pulse of the entire group’s activities. And if the amazing quality of her leadership hasn’t yet been estabilished by previous episodes, it certainly was in episode 11. Calm and cool rationale in the face of an unknown and terrifying threat, not only knowing about but swiftly acknowledging the potential viability of Otonashi’s efforts, and a calculated, personally executed attempt to get to the bottom of everything. And above all that, giving her subordinates a choice when that choice mattered. If everything she has done up to this point is Yurippe’s way of doing what she couldn’t do in life – to be relied on to actually make things happen, to protect what needs to be protected with her own muscles and wits – and succeed – it will I think go a good way towards explaining her character and the unselfish perfection of her leadership.
“Me? I’ve always only been doing my own thing” says she. I won’t be surprised if, should everyone in the SSS find their individual peace at the end, Yurippe disappears alongside the last soul.
Incidentally this would also fundamentally dissociate her from any kind of real Haruhi-resemblance, which raises her likability immensely in my eyes. Kanade-chan may be the dark magical girl turned good (and an extremly adorable one to boot), but if cards are played right, Yurippe may end up the more interesting (and my favourite) character.
And yes, Kanade-chan is Tenshi no more. Yurippe called her by name this episode.
An interesting trend is in place here. Katanagatari started off somewhat as a counter-fairy-tale. Togame and Shichika have a mission to accomplish, and people need to be fought and killed along the way. And people were fought with and killed, swiftly and cleanly. All adversaries, including ones shown to be insane and hateful, and ones deliberately and deftly portrayed as good and admirable, were put to the equal sword. It was cold and simple, Shichika was the slashing blade necessary to clear the path of obstacles, and the way had been smooth and easy due to his incredible competence. Shichika was a blade perfect from tip to hilt. But things appear to be changing.
Loading ...
Recent Comments
Lois L Smithson
"Forest of Pillars are the best for us, and it is the best ..."
SMB Business Solution
"At SMB Business Solution, we offer Salesforce customization services to tailor your platform ..."
Marc Wayne Schechtel
"Das ist eine super hilfreiche Anleitung! Vielen Dank, dass du die Schritte so ..."