Quotes of Awesome June 2012, Part II

Michelle Smith on Moon Child: "The ending is very interesting, indeed! I will say, though, that leading up to it is a lot of stuff that doesn’t make a lot of sense, and for me, once you’ve reached the critical mass for “wtf” it spills over into “whatever,” so there were certain aspects of the conclusion that didn’t affect me as much as they might’ve, though there were a few subplots I liked very much."

Jason Thompson on Antique Bakery: "After this opening, it might be hard to believe it, but Fumi Yoshinaga's Antique Bakery is a manga that makes me happy to be alive. Unlike some manga, it doesn't try too hard to make me happy by being super-cheerful; it just makes me happy because it feels real, and it reminds me that life can be beautiful, even if it's also difficult . . ."

Brian Hanson on creepy things: "But! Can't we agree on something? Something that's been bothering me lately? Can't we just agree that even in our most disposable and forgettable of mindless entertainment, TV shows and movies and manga and comic books that are just meant to be a quick brainless jaunt through our most basest desires, that MAYBE, JUST MAYBE... we don't need to be so gross about women? Or, uh, girls, even? Young girls, too? I know Sex Sells, but wouldn't it be nice if it didn't as much?"

Michelle Smith on Moon Child: "Of course, one can have genuine feelings for shitty people, but I got so irked at various times that my capacity for being thoughtful was impacted."

Jason Thompson on Cromartie High: "When Akira first shows up, his core trait is that he wishes he had a tough nickname. ("If your name is, say, 'The Black Panther of the North Sea,' or 'The Ultimate Weapon of Kinshi Town,' you have a lot more impact.") Eventually he settles on "The Dragon of Razors," but no one but himself ever calls him that. Hayashida's chief traits are that he's a total moron (although a nice guy), he looks middle-aged, and he has a very weak mohawk. In the grand tradition of comedy characters such as Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson, he's basically a formless blob of dumbness who can fit into almost any situation. Hayashida is so stupid that he is unable to do basic math; in one chapter, the other characters try vainly to teach him to subtract two from five so he can pass an upcoming test, then finally decide that the only way to teach him is by ACTION, by going to Bass High School and beating up five guys one-two-three-four-five so that Hayashida can learn to count!!! Of course, the chapter ends with them missing the test because they're suspended for fighting."

Carlo Santos on Kids on the Slope: "Kids on the Slope may be billed as a jazz-centric coming-of-age drama, but the way the story takes off, it's more like a Baroque fugue. First comes a simple melody of unrequited love, which is soon overlapped by another pairing, and then another, and another, until we have a counterpoint of storylines where everyone is in love with everyone else."

Why Salaryman Kintaro Is Awesome

I've read some very unfavorable reviews about Salaryman Kintaro, so I thought I'd balance things out by talking about why this show is outstanding for a certain audience.  Sure, it's not nearly as fun as Dai-Guard, but it's not trying to be.  It's an earnest, sincere, heartfelt drama about a former biker gang leader becoming a white-collar office worker and kind of gathering a harem/flock of admirers of all genders all while learning to navigate the jungles of office politics and being a single parent and helping people all the time.

Things that make Salaryman Kintaro a challenging show to enjoy:

• It has no dub.  I do not think this is a problem (ever, really), but I know it can throw some people off their stride.  However, I think the decision not to dub this was the right one because we really don't have an equivalent for the biker-gang thug/tough guy speak that Kintaro sometimes lapses into.  I've seen some not-quite-successful attempts in other dubs, and, overall, there's just something that makes it work in Japanese.
• It's about a guy working at the office of a construction company.  Can't get around that.  There are corporate politics and policies and procedures.  It would be deadly dull if not for the sociological fun of observing another culture and having my expectations slapped back and forth.  Well, and all the action livens it up, too, what with the bike and car chases, disasters, sabotage, and saving families before their cars fall off a cliff, and stuff.
• It is SO Japanese.  There are assumptions made (I would like to state that grown men ogling nekkid photos of 14-year-olds is NOT OKAY EVER).  Values are after-school specially emphasized.  There are Lessons Learned.  Something these lessons make No Sense to Americans, but are obviously Completely Understood by Japanese.  There is a lot of foreign culture incoming (foreign because it's Japanese but also because office culture is its own culture, and Japanese office culture is just exponentially strange.)  There are no helpful footnotes.  You kind of have to know your Japanese culture, or this will be even stranger (and possibly more offensive and/or impenetrable) for you.
• It has not-so-great animation.  It's very dated.  Purposefully so in some ways, but, well, it's not lavish or amazing.  I think that just adds to the overall cheesy synergy of the whole, but your mileage will vary.

So, if those things are deal-breakers for you, I feel bad that you'll be missing out on the following

Things that make it an awesome show to enjoy:

• It's MANime.  But not nearly as bad as it could be.  GTO was gleefully offensive (this is more YuYu Hakusho than GTO anyway).  Moonlight Mile was kind of gratuitously masculine.  Yugo the Negotiator got pretty psychological and brutal.  Area 88 . . . was actually shonen, wasn't it?  Anyway, we don't get much seinen drama here in the States, and while some of the adult content might bother people who'd be too bored to watch it anyway, it's not hentai.
• It's roMANticized.  And the romance makes sense.  It's very male dreamworld, like Westerns for American men.  No milquetoast lead here, folks, no flavorless, easy-to-identify-with-loser everyman.  Kintaro is a MAN, not a macho poser, not someone who throws his strength around to control or browbeat the weak, not an over-sexualized mass of testosterone, just a very Japanese Manly Man.  People admire him, fear him, respect him, look up to him, even love him in a variety of ways.  The harem gets a tad out of hand, but it's still within the realm of believability, and the show gets major points from me for that.  He's a single father, but he's not even looking for any kind of relationship.  He actively resists them, in fact, politely and without angst or martyrdom.  The fact that so many different people are so drawn to him--and the reasons why--are shown in such a way that you will not have to deplete your willing suspension of disbelief or want to claw your eyes out when you see them following him.
• It has outstanding extras that offer unique insights on what goes on in the anime director's and producer's chairs.  Each volume has part of a longer interview with the producer and the director, and they get honest and in depth about stuff you will probably never hear anywhere else.  This is great stuff. 
• It will feed your inner armchair sociologist.  (Translation: It will teach you about Japan.)  Are you interested in Japanese culture, not just anime?  Did you read Tokyo Vice and love its insight into American perceptions of Japanese culture?  Did you think (one of) the best parts of Nerima Daikon Brothers was those awesome commentaries/interviews where the same director talked to very different people, giving a really clear and completely unintended lesson on interaction between Japanese people?  Kintaro is equally informative but also more baffling.  You may think you know where the afterschool special is leading, but then Japan will step out and beat you with a crutch. 
• It makes you dream/wish/long/hope for a moment that maybe your corporate culture could be changed, too, by someone willing and able to stand up like Kintaro and tell it like it is (with or without that great, rolled-r, guttural, gangster-y cadence).  Or maybe you just wish he'd come in and tell off your boss.  Anyway, that spark of hope that rises in you is a beautiful, beautiful lie, but the hope that flares for a time makes you feel all warm inside your frozen, corporate drone heart.  If you (still) have one.

Anyway.  Here are some other voices on Salaryman Kintaro.

Needless to say, I got a huge, huge kick out of this show for its quirky and offbeat oddness.  If it sounds like a show you'll love, it probably is.  If it sounds like something you'd rather live through that first Asian arc of Yugo the Negotiator than go through, it probably is.  You know where your tastes lie; I just figured I'd give you some additional info to find out if Salaryman Kintaro is where your tastes lie.  I hope it is.  If so, please let me know how you liked it.

Yes, again with Darker Than Black

Well.  Wow.  The sudden ultraviolence means this title is definitely not for everyone.  The series in general keeps you off balance, and the early inclusion of several scenes of hideous and unexpected gore was definitely a successful part of that strategy, but, ewwwww. 

The problem is that unlike other shows, there isn't necessarily warning that things are about to get unbelievably gross, and sometimes, you can't look away because, you know, important plot is happening.


Other ways they keep you off balance:

• killing people who seem important
• inexplicably letting others live
• the most excellent two-episode story arc
• the way the inhabitants of this world don't have everything figured out

That last one is my favorite.  Ten years ago the world changed for these people.  Things they thought were givens (laws of science, common sense, etc.) got tossed out the window.  Or over the wall.  These people are trying to figure their world out on a fairly basic level, and there are a lot of guesses and lies running around.  Even stuff everybody who knows knows is wrong.  It's subtle and breathtaking.  Bravo! 


Because of all this, it feels much more immediate, engaging, and compelling, and you as the viewer must participate because they are not going to spell things out for you, and when they do, the truth may or may not be involved.  Monologues and info dumps can be "full of fail."  Pay attention, or else you miss all the great nuances, contradictions, and bunny trails that make this show a jaw-droppingly great ride.


Up through volume 4 where I am going to stop because I wish to own this series and meticulously pick apart each and every episode to analyze how the story-telling and world-building are so awesome.  I wouldn't want to know the ending and let that influence my obsessive re/watching.

I wonder if I should wait to read this tantalizing novel until after I'm done with the series . . .  Anyone heard anything about it?

I love being a nerd.

Are there any shows you stopped watching partway in so you could start over obsessively?

Uncomfortable conversation of the month: January

     TMIA: Did you want me to send Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden?

     ST: Is that the boob one?

     Yes.  Yes,  I guess there is a lot of nudity.

     A lot of nudity?  It's like every page!  I brought a volume in to read during a study hall, and I opened it up, and there were boobs.  I thought I must have picked a bad page, so I tried another and another, and it was all boobs.  I had to give up before some junior higher came up with a question and ended up with more questions.

     I guess that particular character doesn't like wearing shirts.  No matter what gender he is at the moment.  She.  Whatever.  So, do you want it?

     Sure, I'll read that.. . .  I wouldn't be surprised if the page numbers were boobs.

     Snort.