Ammonite!
TV Tropes really has kicked off a "let's revisit old anime!" desire.
Lain: the loneliest little god in the world. If the last episode doesn't make you want to give her hugs, you might consider asking for some compassion and empathy for Christmas. Or you could just ask for Lain because who doesn't want to be BFFs with someone who can ensure your happiness? I loved her conversations with "herself" in the final episodes. I thought, "Wow, this is like imagining what it would be like to witness the Catholic Trinity debate": "But you are me." "Oh yeah." The first few episodes are slow going because the pacing is so deliberately slow and kind of wonky because of the visual effects and the constant electronic buzzing white noise, but once Lain understands what's going on, the anime is much more interesting to watch unfold.
Speaking of interesting and thoughtful anime, I recommend not watching an episode of Kino no Tabi/Kino's Journey in between. Especially not the last episode. D: D: D: The contrast in pacing and storytelling was jarring. But here's the remarkable thing about Kino that I rediscovered all over again: there's not much of a plot, almost every episode is self-contained, it's not action-packed (though there are some episodes where Kino has to pull her guns), but somehow the episodes are absorbing. Case in point, I watched the last episode again just to see what a TV Trope was referring to and ended up watching the whole episode, engrossed, because when things seem to be going well in Kino, that means something is terribly, terribly wrong . . . and you have to keep watching to find out what. Plus, Kino is a badass. I found my LJ post talking about this anime four years ago and my opinion on the series hasn't changed: ethical and moral mindfuck. In a good way.
And why did no one tell me about the existence of Gakuen Kino????? This sounds amazing: "A Parody of Kino no Tabi starring Kino as a magical schoolgirl with her talking cell phone Hermes." I want it animated so badly. Meta-magical school girl adventure with Kino's calm, distant, observant personality? How can that not be awesome?
Other awesome things: Vampire Princess Miyu. Back in the day when I was getting into anime and was renting whatever VHS tapes whenever I could, Miyu was both one of the anime that often appeared in the trailer previews in the beginning (the image of Miyu catching the cross that Himiko flings at her is indelibly linked to the mystique of Miyu for me) and was on the shelves. Um, I was rewatching some of the OVAs and . . . Miyu is easily one of the coolest vampires ever. She's just so damn smug--Himiko: "For that type of vampire to exist . . ." Miyu: "They do. You're looking at one."--and then the writing turns around and makes her so vulnerable. I love that she's so powerful--and she's such an elegant fighter, just kind of darting around and flinging fire, kind of dancing, really, and ordering Larva to do all the work, lol--but even she feels jealousy and can be undercut by a Shinma that, though she beats in battle, loses to on every emotional ground. She calls herself Hunter and Vampire, but it takes Himiko to point out that she's also a woman. One that's so deliciously unapologetic about being an elitist:Himiko: As usual, a good-looking victim . . .
Miyu: That's right. I desire beautiful people.
HAHAHAHAHAHA. <3 Oh, Miyu, who doesn't desire beautiful people? And there are definitely creepy things going on when you think about it. That scream that mannequin let out . . . *shudders* And a giggly vampire is decidedly creepy. It's just wrong.
Other shudder-inducing things: the ending of Revolutionary Girl Utena. I watched it again and concluded I still don't know what happened. I mean, what? Is the majority of the cast better off, the same, or worse than they were the entire show? I . . . what? Whose journey is this really? Utena's, yes, but it can also arguably be Anthy's. By the end, we see the scope of her role in the duels--both as co-conspirator and as a victim herself--and her emerging self-awareness and conflicted feelings in the face of true friendship and the duty she had resigned herself to who knows how many years ago. Utena was her prince, but not so much in coming to "rescue" her but in showing her that there was a the way out that she had to pursue with her own power and will. Just like this Utena is interesting in how it plays with familiar shoujo themes, using them straight, playing with them, and sometimes outright subverting them. I wish any of us knew what the heck happened though. I'm seriously tempted to watch the whole last arc again.
And because Juri, the stoic in love with her best friend, has always tugged at my heartstrings, I had to rewatch her episodes. Ugh. The No-Love (or Love-Hate) Triangle of Doom. OMG. I don't see how people can pair Shiori and Juri and be happy with that. At no point do I see Shiori find a smidgen of redemption--as Anthy blithely observes, by the end of her own episode she hasn't changed at all. (Can I just mention that the Ominous Latin Chanting in the Black Rose arc in the "confessional" scenes is really ominous?) Sure, later Ruka used Shiori and threw her away like a dirty towel, but damn if that wasn't karma coming back to bite her. Ironically, Ruka did it to appeal to Juri, who ended up hating him for hurting Shiori and yet . . . he wanted to get Juri worked up so that she'd find her fighting spirit. In order to gain the power that would free her from the hold Shiori had on her. Not that that was the right thing to do or that Juri was ready or even wanted such a power--or could even acknowledge how Shiori wanted to trample all over her and hurt her out of resentment and jealousy. I felt sad hearing Ruka's words, trying to make Juri see what's pretty obvious, and his own anger that people like Shiori, who don't deserve miracles, get them, while he knows perfectly well that he can't have Juri himself, miracles or no. Utena does, in fact, literally break the chain that binds Juri to her feelings for Shiori (and has trapped her in the shame of it) but it destroys Juri in the process, thus why she concedes rather than is outright beaten. Not that that's surprising. She really didn't want to duel Utena again--she made a wager and lost. She resented all of it, which is why it's interesting that her final duel with Utena isn't even focused on the Utena vs. Juri fight but the Juri vs. Ruka one. Which was rife with stock footage--or was it just parallelism? Because Ruka plays with Juri in their fight in exactly the same way Juri played around with Utena in their duel.
Really, Juri, Shiori, and Ruka should have all fallen for different people. Juri loving Shiori who wanted Ruka who wanted Juri; Shiori hating Juri who came to resent Ruka who held contempt for Shiori. Around and around we go! Maybe it should be the Love-Requited-with-Hate Triangle. And they're all pretty much aware of all of each other's feelings and where they stand. D: Just one of the frustrating elements of Utena: do they move beyond these feelings and manage to mature and change? Who can tell???? Except for Ruka. 'Cause he can't change anymore.
All things considered, Utena was quite possibly the only (obliviously) happy and positive person in Ohtori (not even Wakaba qualifies, as her feelings of smallness are preyed on in the Black Rose arc) and then that's brutally taken from her in the last duel.
And I just need to mention that even if the lyrics sound like babbling crazy talk most of the time ("Ammonite!": stretching symbolism on steroids), there's really nothing like driving guitars and a choir shouting in your ear aggressively to get you all worked up and feeling the fervor and surrealism of a battle. Shiori's duel song made me feel exactly like that (that bells sequence is awesome). The increasingly eccentric ornamentation of the dueling arena helped too. Interestingly, they may have used stock footage for the animation sequences of the duels but it's like they came up with original songs for all of them.
. . . Damn, I may have to rewatch this series in full, squicky elements or no. D: D: D:
Lain: the loneliest little god in the world. If the last episode doesn't make you want to give her hugs, you might consider asking for some compassion and empathy for Christmas. Or you could just ask for Lain because who doesn't want to be BFFs with someone who can ensure your happiness? I loved her conversations with "herself" in the final episodes. I thought, "Wow, this is like imagining what it would be like to witness the Catholic Trinity debate": "But you are me." "Oh yeah." The first few episodes are slow going because the pacing is so deliberately slow and kind of wonky because of the visual effects and the constant electronic buzzing white noise, but once Lain understands what's going on, the anime is much more interesting to watch unfold.
Speaking of interesting and thoughtful anime, I recommend not watching an episode of Kino no Tabi/Kino's Journey in between. Especially not the last episode. D: D: D: The contrast in pacing and storytelling was jarring. But here's the remarkable thing about Kino that I rediscovered all over again: there's not much of a plot, almost every episode is self-contained, it's not action-packed (though there are some episodes where Kino has to pull her guns), but somehow the episodes are absorbing. Case in point, I watched the last episode again just to see what a TV Trope was referring to and ended up watching the whole episode, engrossed, because when things seem to be going well in Kino, that means something is terribly, terribly wrong . . . and you have to keep watching to find out what. Plus, Kino is a badass. I found my LJ post talking about this anime four years ago and my opinion on the series hasn't changed: ethical and moral mindfuck. In a good way.
And why did no one tell me about the existence of Gakuen Kino????? This sounds amazing: "A Parody of Kino no Tabi starring Kino as a magical schoolgirl with her talking cell phone Hermes." I want it animated so badly. Meta-magical school girl adventure with Kino's calm, distant, observant personality? How can that not be awesome?
Other awesome things: Vampire Princess Miyu. Back in the day when I was getting into anime and was renting whatever VHS tapes whenever I could, Miyu was both one of the anime that often appeared in the trailer previews in the beginning (the image of Miyu catching the cross that Himiko flings at her is indelibly linked to the mystique of Miyu for me) and was on the shelves. Um, I was rewatching some of the OVAs and . . . Miyu is easily one of the coolest vampires ever. She's just so damn smug--Himiko: "For that type of vampire to exist . . ." Miyu: "They do. You're looking at one."--and then the writing turns around and makes her so vulnerable. I love that she's so powerful--and she's such an elegant fighter, just kind of darting around and flinging fire, kind of dancing, really, and ordering Larva to do all the work, lol--but even she feels jealousy and can be undercut by a Shinma that, though she beats in battle, loses to on every emotional ground. She calls herself Hunter and Vampire, but it takes Himiko to point out that she's also a woman. One that's so deliciously unapologetic about being an elitist:Himiko: As usual, a good-looking victim . . .
Miyu: That's right. I desire beautiful people.
HAHAHAHAHAHA. <3 Oh, Miyu, who doesn't desire beautiful people? And there are definitely creepy things going on when you think about it. That scream that mannequin let out . . . *shudders* And a giggly vampire is decidedly creepy. It's just wrong.
Other shudder-inducing things: the ending of Revolutionary Girl Utena. I watched it again and concluded I still don't know what happened. I mean, what? Is the majority of the cast better off, the same, or worse than they were the entire show? I . . . what? Whose journey is this really? Utena's, yes, but it can also arguably be Anthy's. By the end, we see the scope of her role in the duels--both as co-conspirator and as a victim herself--and her emerging self-awareness and conflicted feelings in the face of true friendship and the duty she had resigned herself to who knows how many years ago. Utena was her prince, but not so much in coming to "rescue" her but in showing her that there was a the way out that she had to pursue with her own power and will. Just like this Utena is interesting in how it plays with familiar shoujo themes, using them straight, playing with them, and sometimes outright subverting them. I wish any of us knew what the heck happened though. I'm seriously tempted to watch the whole last arc again.
And because Juri, the stoic in love with her best friend, has always tugged at my heartstrings, I had to rewatch her episodes. Ugh. The No-Love (or Love-Hate) Triangle of Doom. OMG. I don't see how people can pair Shiori and Juri and be happy with that. At no point do I see Shiori find a smidgen of redemption--as Anthy blithely observes, by the end of her own episode she hasn't changed at all. (Can I just mention that the Ominous Latin Chanting in the Black Rose arc in the "confessional" scenes is really ominous?) Sure, later Ruka used Shiori and threw her away like a dirty towel, but damn if that wasn't karma coming back to bite her. Ironically, Ruka did it to appeal to Juri, who ended up hating him for hurting Shiori and yet . . . he wanted to get Juri worked up so that she'd find her fighting spirit. In order to gain the power that would free her from the hold Shiori had on her. Not that that was the right thing to do or that Juri was ready or even wanted such a power--or could even acknowledge how Shiori wanted to trample all over her and hurt her out of resentment and jealousy. I felt sad hearing Ruka's words, trying to make Juri see what's pretty obvious, and his own anger that people like Shiori, who don't deserve miracles, get them, while he knows perfectly well that he can't have Juri himself, miracles or no. Utena does, in fact, literally break the chain that binds Juri to her feelings for Shiori (and has trapped her in the shame of it) but it destroys Juri in the process, thus why she concedes rather than is outright beaten. Not that that's surprising. She really didn't want to duel Utena again--she made a wager and lost. She resented all of it, which is why it's interesting that her final duel with Utena isn't even focused on the Utena vs. Juri fight but the Juri vs. Ruka one. Which was rife with stock footage--or was it just parallelism? Because Ruka plays with Juri in their fight in exactly the same way Juri played around with Utena in their duel.
Really, Juri, Shiori, and Ruka should have all fallen for different people. Juri loving Shiori who wanted Ruka who wanted Juri; Shiori hating Juri who came to resent Ruka who held contempt for Shiori. Around and around we go! Maybe it should be the Love-Requited-with-Hate Triangle. And they're all pretty much aware of all of each other's feelings and where they stand. D: Just one of the frustrating elements of Utena: do they move beyond these feelings and manage to mature and change? Who can tell???? Except for Ruka. 'Cause he can't change anymore.
All things considered, Utena was quite possibly the only (obliviously) happy and positive person in Ohtori (not even Wakaba qualifies, as her feelings of smallness are preyed on in the Black Rose arc) and then that's brutally taken from her in the last duel.
And I just need to mention that even if the lyrics sound like babbling crazy talk most of the time ("Ammonite!": stretching symbolism on steroids), there's really nothing like driving guitars and a choir shouting in your ear aggressively to get you all worked up and feeling the fervor and surrealism of a battle. Shiori's duel song made me feel exactly like that (that bells sequence is awesome). The increasingly eccentric ornamentation of the dueling arena helped too. Interestingly, they may have used stock footage for the animation sequences of the duels but it's like they came up with original songs for all of them.
. . . Damn, I may have to rewatch this series in full, squicky elements or no. D: D: D: