Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 2854 Location: Santa Monica, CA
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 2:22 am Post subject:
I bought it from Amazon, and finally had a chance to get to it tonight -- it's really good. Gay film festival winner good, much better than I was expecting. It was very faithful to the manga, but without being constrained by it, and it totally took advantage of its filmed medium to do clever camera tricks, comedic and musical montages, and creepy effects for a couple of darker bits. The actors were great too, especially the "gay of demonic charm", who actually lived up to his title. And it seems to have had a decent budget, which is always a plus.
It runs about 1:50. I bought it from an Amazon, but it's out of stock there now; if you get it elsewhere, just be sure that you get an all-region DVD (which probably has the cover below). There's another version that's region 3 only, and you'd need an international player for it.
I just checked the Wikipedia entry for it, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antique_Bakery . This turns out to have been huge in Korea: "released on November 13, 2008, and drew more than 1 million moviegoers within its first two weeks of release, making it one of the most successful Korean movies ever made."
Cool.
_________________
Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.
- Brendan Gill
Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 2854 Location: Santa Monica, CA
Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:23 pm Post subject:
San Diego's Comic Con attendance was estimated at 125,000 total over the 4 days. By comparison, the numbers for one of Japan's biggest cons, Comiket, just came out: there was a cumulative total of 560,000 entries into the event on three days — 180,000 on Friday, 180,000 on Saturday, and 200,000 on Sunday. ATMs ran out of money, and local train lines had to limit boarding due to overcrowding.
FYI, Comiket is held twice yearly, and specializes in doujinshi -- commercial but amateur-produced manga, often the equivalent of fan-fiction of existing commercial characters, but there's original material also. (And all of it can be sold, due to Japan's different view on copyright and fair use.) Doujinshi artists and artist groups ("circles") can develop their own cult followings, and a lot of successful professional artists started in doujinshi.
_________________
Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.
- Brendan Gill
Joined: 03 Aug 2007 Posts: 299 Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 2:13 pm Post subject:
We're going to get this to show for our Sunday night film event at Gaylaxicon! I'm so excited!
howtaobrowncow wrote:
I bought it from Amazon, and finally had a chance to get to it tonight -- it's really good. Gay film festival winner good, much better than I was expecting. It was very faithful to the manga, but without being constrained by it, and it totally took advantage of its filmed medium to do clever camera tricks, comedic and musical montages, and creepy effects for a couple of darker bits. The actors were great too, especially the "gay of demonic charm", who actually lived up to his title. And it seems to have had a decent budget, which is always a plus.
It runs about 1:50. I bought it from an Amazon, but it's out of stock there now; if you get it elsewhere, just be sure that you get an all-region DVD (which probably has the cover below). There's another version that's region 3 only, and you'd need an international player for it.
I just checked the Wikipedia entry for it, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antique_Bakery . This turns out to have been huge in Korea: "released on November 13, 2008, and drew more than 1 million moviegoers within its first two weeks of release, making it one of the most successful Korean movies ever made."
Their picture in the article is great: at low-res, I was sure these were all drag queens, but at high-res, I fear that they aren't. I think I liked them better at low-res.
_________________
Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.
- Brendan Gill
Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 2854 Location: Santa Monica, CA
Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 11:19 pm Post subject:
Anime News Network is doing their annual Fall anime guide, where their team review new shows coming out in Japan -- many of which are now streaming at the Crunchyroll site -- some, like the one below, require membership to view earlier than their general release (if there is one).
The guide is here: http://fast.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2009-10-01 . This one caught my eye, as having a lesbian theme and a great rating by the reviewer (Carl Kimlinger): 5 out of 5. His review page is here, and I'll quote his review, below:
Quote:
Title: Sasameki Koto
Rating: 5
Review:
Less refined but harder hitting than last season's lovely Aoi Hana, Sasameki Koto is a perceptive tale of teen romance complicated by same-sex love. Sumika Murasame, Sumi to her friends, is her class's president and resident cool-headed beauty. Her best friend Ushio Kazama is the class's resident airhead. Ushio is an unabashed lesbian with a taste for cute—emphasis on the cute—girls and a habit of falling quickly in and out of love. Though the “out” usually involves one-sided heartbreak on her side. So focused is she on her romantic pursuits that she misses completely the obvious fact that Sumi is completely and irrevocably in love with her.
Maybe it's my Catholic upbringing, but I'm a sucker for self-sacrifice. Watching Sumi suffer silently as her best friend unknowingly breaks her heart strikes a chord deep inside that is probably indicative of all manner of unhealthy issues. But even without the twisted martyr complexes, this is a stunningly accomplished drama that will appeal to a large variety of substance-starved romance fans. This first episode so subtly yet completely lays out the relationships, emotions and inner conflicts of its cast that it's almost hard to see it where it can go from here. Like Aoi Hana, it deals with homosexuality as part of a complex real-world milieu, creating an intricate web of affections and emotional consequences that it doesn't hesitate to exploit to aching effect. And Sumi…Sumi is one of the most nuanced and coolly sympathetic heroines to ever grace a lowly teen romance. Absolutely superb.
Sasameki Koto is currently available streaming on Crunchyroll.
(Edit: Image below from http://www.nekomagic.com , since it seems ANN won't let you link to theirs...)
UPDATE: Just finished watching this at the Crunchyroll site, at the good review is well deserved. It's cute and warm and funny (without being over the top), and what teen angst there was was totally reasonable and, really, very real. (We've all been there, or at least somewhere very similar.)
The animation quality was very high also; it was really nice to look at. They say it's got 12 episodes, a new one each Wednesday, and I'm definitely in for the whole show.
_________________
Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.
- Brendan Gill
Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 2854 Location: Santa Monica, CA
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 12:25 am Post subject:
Crunchyroll is up to episode #3 of Sasameki Koto, and I think it's holding up really well. A great mix of humor and emotion, a touch of wackiness for comic relief, and the best use of an Ultraman mask I've ever seen.
Some amusing summary points at: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SasamekiKoto . I think these are from the manga, though, because there's stuff there that isn't in the first 3 episodes that have aired so far. So beware of spoilers!
_________________
Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.
- Brendan Gill
I picked up the first two volumes of Antique Bakery in the library today, and I finished them today. I LOVED THEM! So cute. I can't wait for the next two, and the tv show and the movie too. Woohoo!
Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 2854 Location: Santa Monica, CA
Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:25 am Post subject:
I was about to post a quick mention of a great girl's-love anime series called Aoi Hana, that I just watched today on Crunchyroll, and I notice that, just a couple of posts ago, I recommended Sasameki Koto which the reviewer I quoted was comparing to... Aoi Hana! If I'd remembered that, I would have watched it sooner!
Aoi Hana ("Blue Flowers") is another series about high school girls and their relationships, mostly centered on a couple of childhood friends who are reunited at the start of their 1st year (10th grade) when one of them moves back to their hometown with her relocated family.
I say, "mostly centered", btw, because the interactions of their friends and family are at least as important to the story as the connection of the two friends, and because... well, I'd be hesitant to be too detailed here, because the story didn't go anywhere that I was expecting when it started. In fact, since the anime is based on a manga, I think I'm going to have to read the manga, because the mere 11 episodes of the anime series left me desperately wanting to know what happened afterwards, if anything. It was a great ending, don't get me wrong, but it ended with plenty more in their lives that could happen later, and I want more!
Like Sasemeki Koto, it's a warm, funny, moving series that feels very real, and that really engages you with the characters. It's been a while since I've chained through a series like this, but I started watching them this morning, and couldn't stop. (Ok, I did break for lunch, and to meditate, but I came right back each time.) And, as I mentioned, I can say that the series didn't go anywhere that I was expecting it to go... That, in itself, is rare enough that I really appreciated the creators for it, even when I was rooting for outcomes that didn't materialize.
And thank gods for high speed internet access, btw. I watched the whole thing on the Crunchyroll website for free (here), and downloading the series was pretty seamless, and the video quality was terrific. Which was a good thing, because the animation art was really terrific, and definitely one of the draws of the series.
If you like light, funny dramas with lots of heart, I can highly recommend trying out the first couple of episodes and giving it a shot. It's free, after all, and, IMHO, well worth the trial.
_________________
Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.
- Brendan Gill
Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 2854 Location: Santa Monica, CA
Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 11:42 pm Post subject:
Speaking of girls-love manga ("yuri"), I ran into this today on Amazon: a Kindle subscription to Okazu, billed as the "The" Yuri anime and manga blog:
Quote:
Okazu is the oldest and most comprehensive blog for anime and manga reviews, news and events of interest to Yuri, Girls Love and Shoujoai fans by the founder of Yuricon and ALC Publishing.
Kindle blogs are fully downloaded onto your Kindle so you can read them even when you're not wirelessly connected. And unlike RSS readers which often only provide headlines, blogs on Kindle give you full text content and images, and are updated wirelessly throughout the day.
The Amazon page is here. I've never subscribed to a Kindle blog; apparently, there's a 14-day free trial, and the subscription price is 99¢, although I don't know how frequently that's charged. Once a month, maybe? Sounds possibly interesting...
_________________
Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.
- Brendan Gill
Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 2854 Location: Santa Monica, CA
Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2010 7:10 pm Post subject:
This makes me laugh:
Anime News Network wrote:
The United States Armed Forces in Japan have announced on Monday that they are collaborating with the Maritan manga creators to publish a manga celebrating the 50-year alliance between America and Japan. The official blog of the Maritan manga franchise confirmed the news. Artist Yukio Hirai is best known for Mahō no Kaiheitai Pixel☆Maritan (Magical Marine Pixel*Maritan), the manga/CD set that teaches Japanese people how to talk like a U.S. Marine — with profanity.
[...]The latest Maritan manga, Maritan Eigo no Drill F*ck-Hen (Maritan English Drills: F*ck Edition), went on sale on Saturday, and the voice actresses Ai Tokunaga (Maritan) and Mai Kadowaki (Jieitan) held a book signing in Tokyo's Akihabara otaku shopping district that same day. Samples of the voice CD that is bundled with the manga can be heard on the manga's official website.
Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 2854 Location: Santa Monica, CA
Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2010 1:23 pm Post subject:
An interesting title just popped up on my Amazon page (due out at Xmas) Wandering Son: Book One
Quote:
Product Description
A sensitive masterprice from Japan’s most prominent creator of LGBT manga. The fifth grade. The threshold to puberty, and the beginning of the end of childhood innocence. Shuichi Nitori and his new friend Yoshino Takatsuki have happy homes, loving families, and are well-liked by their classmates. But they share a secret that further complicates a time of life that is awkward for anyone: Shuichi is a boy who wants to be a girl, and Yoshino is a girl who wants to be a boy. Written and drawn by one of today’s most critically acclaimed creators of manga, Shimura portrays Shuishi and Yoshino’s very private journey with affection, sensitivity, gentle humor, and unmistakable flair and grace. Book One introduces our two protagonists and the friends and family whose lives intersect with their own. Yoshino is rudely reminded of her sex by immature boys whose budding interest in girls takes clumsily cruel forms. Shuichi’s secret is discovered by Saori, a perceptive and eccentric classmate. And it is Saori who suggests that the fifth graders put on a production of The Rose of Versailles for the farewell ceremony for the sixth graders — with boys playing the roles of women, and girls playing the roles of men.
Wandering Son is a sophisticated work of literary manga translated with rare skill and sensitivity by veteran translator and comics scholar Matt Thorn. 8 pages of color; 184 pages of black and white
_________________
Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.
- Brendan Gill
Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 2854 Location: Santa Monica, CA
Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:52 pm Post subject:
This new transgendered anime looks promising, and is getting pretty good buzz: Hourou Musuko - Wandering Son. It's about a middle school boy who wants to be a girl, who meets a girl who wants to be a boy.
It starts streaming on Crunchyroll, shortly. The anime is based on a manga (which is up to 8 volumes in Japan, with the first soon to be released here), and I can only hope that the anime is as good as this AMV taken from that manga:
The full description, from the Crunchyroll site, is below:
Quote:
Nitori Shuichi is a boy who wants to become a girl. He transfers to a new elementary school, and there, meets Takatsuki Yoshino, a tall and attractive young girl. Coincidentally, Yoshino also dreams of becoming the opposite sex. She lets Shuichi in on a secret that she cross dresses from time to time and visits places far from home. Due to the fact that they share the same secret, they become close. The two are now in middle school. In the midst of a crowd full of new people, the two search for their own paths; all the while facing the troubles and concerns that come along with puberty.
_________________
Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.
- Brendan Gill
Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 2854 Location: Santa Monica, CA
Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 4:03 am Post subject:
A quick followup: Wandering Son is now streaming episode 1 on Crunchyroll (here), and it's quite good. I'll just point you to Gia Manry's review on ANN (here - it's one of a group she's done for the Winter season), because she says pretty much exactly what I'd say about it, even down to how good the closing theme is.
One thing I'll add, though, is that I had to watch it a second time through to get the characters straight. They're all middle school students, so they don't look as different from each other as older kids would, and then you throw in gender confusion (is that a boy, or a girl, or a girl who dresses like a boy, or...), and Japanese names, and it gets a bit hard to keep track of the players. But the second time through totally cured that, and I liked it even more than I had the first time.
I was particularly aware, though, that I was probably missing out on some of the subtext. That's somewhat expected in any foreign show, but even more so here. Japanese boys and girls don't have the same mannerisms and expectations as Americans, and I'm sure there were things I was expected to notice about the atypical behaviors of the two leads that I missed because I didn't have the same expectations.
As a final note, if you watch it, come back and check the spoiler box below about the ending.
Click here to see the hidden message and/or spoilers...
Someone on Cruncyroll noted that that was a wet-dream he had at the end. It was obvious, once he mentioned it, but my mind just didn't go there, even after watching it twice. Maybe because I thought of them as kids, although they're clearly growing up.
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Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.
- Brendan Gill
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