Anaglyph’s Anime Appraisals

Perhaps I’m easily pleased but I do enjoy looking at the search terms section of my stats. As is to be expected a lot of the terms are normal for an anime blog, such as “marimite”, “red garden”, “anime traps” and so on; however, stranger searches frequently pop up.

For full enjoyment you need to know what an anaglyph is (if you don’t already): you know those pictures printed in two colours that produce a three-dimensional image when viewed through the proper spectacles? Those are anaglyphs. Oh, and it’s something or other to do with bas reliefs or some such thing, but you’re not here for highbrow culture - right?

So, amongst the expected Strawberry-Panics and Yumi-and-Sachikos there is a disturbing trend. You may have guessed by now. There seems to be an awful lot of people out there looking for 3d porn. Here’s a sample of some of the searches that landed people on my blog.

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First, big spoiler for Kanon ahead. Stay away if you don’t want to be spoiled. Spoiler on collision course. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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I should preface this post by noting that I’m by no means an expert on fiction in any medium; I’m not a professional writer; I don’t have a degree in literature or even media studies; I’m just someone who has read quite a lot over the years and watched a lot of tv shows and movies - ignorant in other words. Any observations made in this post may well have emerged from a certain rear orifice rather than having any basis in reality; they’re just the impressions of an uneducated bumpkin. Please feel free to correct any misapprehension.

Before I started watching anime I became interested in Japanese (and East Asian in general) horror films after watching Ringu late one night and being unsettled by a horror film for the first time in maybe twenty years. After collecting a few DVD’s it started to seem to me that there was frequently a distinct difference in the way the stories were told compared to their typical Western counterparts. And this impression has carried over into anime.

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Just when you thought you could relax after three blissfully songless episodes, they’re back. I don’t want to dwell on it but I do find the inclusion of the songs strange. They’re too short and inconsequential to make this a fullblown musical anime and just come across as a bit odd and out of place - so why bother with them at all? Guess it was an experiment; one that failed in my opinion. Oh well - like taxes they just have to be endured. On with the show…

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Red Garden’s jazzy opening song is really quite catchy, and the visuals are fairly striking too; the combination has something of a seventies vibe. Normally I’ll skip an anime’s credits without a second thought but there are a few exceptions and this is one of them, though the rap-metal ED is another matter; nice riff, shame about the rap - just not my cup of tea. Anyway…

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I’ve finally got round to putting something other than my email address on the About page. It’s fascinating stuff so be sure to check it out! (Spot the sarcasm.) Also there are now two more static pages: a typical Anime List of series watched/watching/dropped - more for my benefit than anything really; and my Top Ten, with brief comments on each - this will be updated if/when new series push older ones out of their top ten spots. If you don’t read these pages you’ll be missing out on something special.

Okay, not the world’s most exciting blog entry, so to make up for it here’s a pretty picture.

Rin for the win

It’s times like this when I wish I’d taken Japanese instead of German back at school. After trying to patiently wait for the subs for a while, a child-like inability to defer gratification finally got the better of me; so here’s a few screenshots and some fatuous comments. They shouldn’t be too spoilerish, seeing as Marimite is much more about the characters and their interactions than it is about plot, and I’ve withheld the captures of the climactic sequence because it’s lovely and needs to be watched properly.

Woohoo! The garden of maidens is back

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This is probably of no interest to anyone but myself, although that could be said about my blog in general no doubt; nevertheless, I feel the urge to ramble about how I became interested in this strange world that is Japanese animation. If you’re looking for something to alleviate your boredom, rest assured, this post can be safely ignored; nothing of interest lies herein.

I assume I’m something of a rarity when it comes to the age at which the anime obsession struck. No doubt most people start watching anime as children or teenagers; maybe some start watching in their twenties; but there can’t be many who start watching in their thirties, and even fewer who begin blogging about it on the interwebs. At my age, does watching cartoons aimed at teenagers indicate emotional retardation? Or is it a symptom of impending mid-life crisis? Will I attach a spoiler to my car, spike my hair (not that there’s much left to spike), and start trying to chat up teenage girls? Good grief! Oh well - no use worrying about it. Let’s just put it down to nostalgia for years long-since gone and the paucity of anything interesting to be found on British television these days. That’s a much less embarrassing way of looking at it.

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It’s been bugging me for a while now: every time Kuroda appears I get the feeling I’ve seen him somewhere before. Today I realised who he reminds me of: Leonard Bernstein.

Bernstein look-alike Kuroda

Maybe there’s nothing in it but, given Red Garden’s Broadway leanings and the fact that Bernstein is the composer of a rather famous musical (West Side Story), it doesn’t seem completely beyond the realm of possibility that Kuroda’s design was inspired by Bernstein. That said, this and the previous episode have not featured a song. It seems odd to start out with such a big stylistic decision and then drop it after two episodes; not that I’m complaining. Maybe it was felt that the songs weren’t working; maybe there will be songs in future episodes. Either way, I’m thankful for their current absence.

I’m going to loosen up on the synopsis/thoughts format of previous entries by cutting down the detail of the summary and mixing it up more with my thoughts on the episode. It’s still full of spoilers though, so steer clear of this post if you want to avoid them. On with the show.

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