Forum - View topicShelf Life - Let the Wet One In
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5528 Location: Mexico |
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I don't think Freud would be proud of anyone pointing out the obvious. It's never been questioned that a broken family or bad parenting can and most likely will cause permanent damage to the children, especially if they don't have any other support system -school, friends, relatives-. I haven't seen the movie, but I hardly imagine that being the "moral of the story" so to speak, given that "bad parents >> traumatised children" is an exceedingly common trope in anime |
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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Next week! I'm actually pretty optimistic for this season! |
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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I think I would've preferred to watch the series all in one go. When I have a boxset in front of me, I'm much more likely to keep watching the next episode, partially because the, "Ehhhhhhhh just one more" curiosity aspect is higher (for me). When I have an entire week between episodes, I have a lot more time to cool off on the show. Especially with something like MSX, that had such a big Ick factor (for me, once again), I was a lot more likely to fixate on that than the characters. In my original viewing of MSX, I didn't warm up to the series until the end. Having that new frame of mind going into the second viewing helped, I think, because I was able to see the characters in a new light..... even though I still think the SUPER VISCOUS SPIT impacted me negatively every time I saw it. But that's like... very much a personal preference, which I'm aware of. I can't stand the sight of spit, or the sound of vomiting. I'm also grossed out by sweat. So......... you know, that's where I'm coming from. |
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Gewürtztraminer
 Posts: 1028 Location: Texas - Its like whole other country. |
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I agree on the dub voices for Urabe in Mysterious Girlfriend X, but...
For me, the show benefited from the extra layer of abstraction of reading the translations of the dialog, instead of hearing the dialog in English, especially in the Mysterious Cultural Festival episode. Maybe the path the message takes to your brain changes your perception of it, but what I loved as a quirky show, became a really weird show to me. I bet the VA's were like: "Come on! I really have to say that?" All Shinkai is autobuy for me, I love the use of water, light, especially glints of light. Garden of Words was the best looking film he has done, in my opinion. |
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Msag
 Posts: 50 |
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Absolutely loved this column of Shelf life, Bamboo!
 Wonderful writing and expression. I've enjoyed some of Makoto Shinkai's works like you, but I agree that they certainly leave an impression of delicate wistfulness (?) if nothing else, and I've been hearing nothing but positive reviews for Garden of Words so I definitely must try that out.
Other than that, loved the description of "pop in" and "cheese-less pizza" analogy you used for Dirty Pair. But the winner definitely goes to Mysterious Girlfriend X!! Lol, the review for that really had me laughing with all the food/drool comparisons. Plus, I've managed to make up my mind about whether or not to watch this show now based on your reactions. Despite what everybody keeps saying in the forums about realistic portrayal of awkward love and amazing characters, if I can't get past the globs of drool like you can't (and most likely I can't), then its not for me! 
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Msag
Posts: 50 |
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I didn't know that about it being a Japanese sentiment! :O Whether you fed a troll or not, I don't know, but that was really informative and its helped to explain some animes I've watched now, so thanks for that.
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Max1707
Posts: 3 |
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Regarding the Dirty Pair TV set 1 DVD, is there difference between this release and the original 2010 release? Looking on Amazon, the only difference seems to be is that the 2013 release has a lite-box packaging, but the content seems to be the same. Does anyone know if any other changes were made in the new release?
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here-and-faraway
 Posts: 1529 Location: Sunny California |
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Hooray! I was able to teach someone even though I'm on summer vacation. Woo hoo! I'm glad it helped. Thanks for letting me know. 
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Echo_City
Posts: 1236 |
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You mean to tell me that Freud wouldn't approve of a work that unabashedly (and correctly) places the blame for the psychological scarring of a young male on his mother? If you want a "moral of the story" it is more along the lines of "2 broken people might just be able to repair one another" but seeing as how the movie primarily focuses on the flaws of the male protagonist (the female "protagonist" is touched upon, enough to establish her as a meeker "Miss Fuyutsuki" from GTO) I maintain that the point of the movie is how his mother "broke" him and how he tries to cope and possibly recover. The ending is ambiguous and somewhat tragic; I think that one's interpretation of it separates the optimists from the realists. |
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here-and-faraway
Posts: 1529 Location: Sunny California |
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You could think of this another way...Shinkai wanted to create a story about two people who shouldn't make a connection, but did. And not only did they make a connection, but spoiler[ their bond will continue on despite the difference in age, "appropriateness", and place. Think about the tanka poem that was so central to the story. It's repeated at least three times and is about not leaving someone, despite a storm.] In order for the story to be believable, we had to have a reason for Takao, a 15 year old boy, to be mature enough to offer something to Yukino. It's pretty unlikely that the average freshman would attract and "heal" a 27 year old woman. As a storyteller, Shinkai had to make the situation credible. Having Takao's family "abandon" him was an effective (and easy) way to make us believe he could be both lonely enough to long for a connection and mature enough to make one with an older woman (who wasn't a sexual predator). So yes, his mother and brother (and presumably father - you haven't mentioned him have you?) "abandoning" Takao is part of the story, but I wouldn't say it's the focal point. Sure you could churn out a paper talking about how boys from broken homes become fixated on older women because they want to create a new "mother", etc., etc., but I would argue that you are missing the point that Shinkai was trying to make. Freud, (and others such as Jung, Nietzsche, etc.) are fun to play around with when you're analyzing a story, but you have to be careful that you're not missing the "big picture". It's fun to grab at strands, but don't ignore the overall work. |
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RightStufSpecialsMinion
Company Representative
 Posts: 331 Location: Iowa |
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Yep, the only difference is the packaging. If you want the chipboard boxes, you'll want to get the original sets, but if you'd rather save a little space the liteboxes are the sets for you. |
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CrowLia
Posts: 5528 Location: Mexico |
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I'm not even addressing the content of the movie but what you "concluded" was the "point of the movie", for, even without watching it, if "broken parents >> broken children" is the big message the movie tries to convey, then it's bringing nothing to the table, and I seriously doubt that's the case. Also, Freud didn't care that much about mother induced traumas, he's just been generally related to the theory because he coined the whole Oedipus syndrome thing. He was more about dreams, sex, libido and children's sexuality, blah blah blah so I doubt he'd care much about this movie and its take on bad parents >> damaged children |
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Max1707
Posts: 3 |
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Thank you for the info. I was curious as to whether something had been altered or removed, and it hadn't been listed in the product description. |
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melmouth
Posts: 167 |
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Somewhere back up there someone was bemoaning the fact that the male and female in "Garden of Words" are around 10 years apart in age.
Ho-hum. In addition to being a moving, beautiful, and hopeful story depicting the ability of emotionally-injured people to find a way to enjoy life, this anime is a commercial product. There's nothing more characteristic of Japanese anime and manga than the introduction of a semi-shocking romantic or sexual element in order to meet the fundamental need of all commercial media products, which is to grab and hold the viewer's attention from the outset. Flirting with questionable love is how the Japanese often do that. Over here in the USA, by contrast, our media moguls often do it by introducing violence or screaming conflict. Personally, I like semi-transgressive love better as the "hook". The "peak conflict" American approach wouldn't work in a polite society like Japan, and it doesn't work on a reserved guy like me. It just irritates me. So whenever you start wringing your hands over the most recent appearance of this standard Japanese approach, remind yourself that it's fiction, and that's all. No actual transgressions are occurring. |
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