×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
Akane Analyzes (Spoilerific).


Goto page Previous    Next

Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Anime
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar


Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 16935
PostPosted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 11:29 pm Reply with quote
"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." - Harriet Tubman

Or if you prefer

“Everyone must leave something behind when he dies. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die. It doesn't matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away." - Ray Bradbury

And Tokyo Mew Mew eh? I remember that manga/anime. Been years and years since I've read or watched it. As for the next topic it will be interesting to see which title you prefer between Gen and Fireflies.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Akane the Catgirl



Joined: 09 Oct 2013
Posts: 1091
Location: LA, Baby!
PostPosted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 1:39 am Reply with quote
Hey, everyone! So, a few things:

1. I'M SICK AND THAT SUCKS.

2. Little brother is home for the weekend before having to go back to the hospital.

3. I have an ear worm stuck in my head brought about by West Side Story.

4. I need to do a lot more research before I'm ready to post my next analysis.

The point is, today's post has been delayed to I don't know when due to all of these things. I preemptively apologize for not having anything today. I'll try and get it up as soon as I can, but right now, I need to get better and more focused. Thank you. See you soon.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
nobahn
Subscriber



Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 5120
PostPosted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 12:50 pm Reply with quote
Here's a bowl of soup for you:
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Akane the Catgirl



Joined: 09 Oct 2013
Posts: 1091
Location: LA, Baby!
PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 9:12 am Reply with quote
Akane Analyzes: "Barefoot Gen" and "Grave of the Fireflies"

Hello and welcome to Akane Analyzes. Before we begin, I'd like to thank Errinundra, yuna49, Psycho 101, and nobahn for their thoughts and comments. You're all great. And thanks for the soup, nobahn.

Personal story time! One of my pasttimes as a kid was reading American Girl books. For those of you who aren't from the States, American Girl is a series that focuses on young girls from throughout American history. One of these characters was Molly McIntire, who grew up during the World War II. While I didn't own the entire series, I did indeed have a book called Welcome to Molly's World, which was a big hardcover book focused on covering the basics of Molly's time period.

Why am I telling you this? Today's topic is going to be examining works written by authors who survived World War Two. Both were subjected to the horrors of both Imperialist Japan's policies, as well as warfare from both sides. These authors would then write critically acclaimed stories based on their experiences. I am of course talking about Akiyuki Nosaka and Keiji Nakazawa. Well, what are we waiting for?

...

Oh, that's right. There's that spoiler thing. *ahem* This post will be spoiling both the Grave of the Fireflies movie and Barefoot Gen. Be careful, especially regarding the less-known latter series.

Oh, and there's this. This post will be mentioning generally disturbing material, including descriptions of death. You have been warned.

A Little Backstory



Let's start with Keiji Nakazawa. The creator of Barefoot Gen was only six years old when his home city of Hiroshima was destroyed by the dropping of the Little Boy atomic bomb. Nakazawa was lucky to have survived the nuclear bombing with only minor injuries. His father, sister, and younger brother were not. Only his older brothers and mother were able to survive past the initial months after the war. Nakazawa's newborn sister would starve to death the following winter.

In 1972, Nakazawa would publish a one-shot titled I Saw It, originally published Shonen Jump Monthly and localized by Educomics in the US. Unlike Barefoot Gen, I Saw It was explicitly biographical in nature. Real names are used, and in fact, the framing device is told from the perspective of an older Nakazawa. What's notably absent from this one-shot is the anti-nationalist and Imperial Japan criticism that will be discussed later.

Akiyuki Nosaka was much older than Nakazawa, being fifteen when the war came to an end. His adoptive father was killed in the Kobe bombings, and his little sister Keiko would later die from starvation. In an interview with Animage, Nosaka had this to say:

Akiyuki Nosaka wrote:
My sister's death is an exact match with the novel. It was one week after the end of the war. At the countryside of Fukui prefecture where I was, it was the day the restrictions on lighting were removed. It must have been the 22nd. It was evening, and I was picking up my sister's bones. I was coming home in a daze when I saw the village lit up. There was nothing like my surprise then. My sister died in my side of the world, and the light was coming back in the other.
Honestly speaking, there was also relief that she died and my burden was gone. No one would wake me up in the night like she did with her crying, and I wouldn't have to wander around with a child on my back any more. I'm very sorry to say this about my sister, but I did have those feelings too. That's why I haven't gone back to my novel (Grave of the Fireflies, published in 1967) to re-read it, since I hate that. It's so hypocritical. It must be absolutely true that Seita must have thought of his sister as a burden too. He must have thought that he could have escaped better if it weren't for her.


In 1967, Nosaka would publish Grave of the Fireflies as a short story in Bungei Shunju magazine. Reportedly, he wrote the story as a way to apologize to Keiko for her death. This is also the reason why he killed his fictional self, Seita. Of course, more people remember Grave through it's 1988 Studio Ghibli film adaptation, rather than the semi-autobiographical novel it originally was.

Themes



Barefoot Gen, as was mentioned earlier, is focused on what the civilians of Japan went through at the empire's hands. The manga's first volume focuses on the ostracization of the Nakaoka family after patriarch Daikichi openly criticizes the war. The story shows events such as Daikichi being taken away to be tortured for dissent, Gen's sister Eiko being forced to strip for a crime she'd been framed for, and the family's wheat field being trampled by their neighbors.

The manga's anti-nationalist themes are very unsubtle. Gen is humliated in class when he writes a letter to a soldier asking him not to die. A later story arc follows older brother Koji's time as a trainee soldier, meeting a kamikaze pilot who is shamed for not going through with dying. Another trainee soldier kills himself rather than take any more of the harsh drills. I would be critical of this subtle-as-a-brick writing, but I'm not. Why?

This. Actually. Happened.

Every atrocity, every tragedy, every little detail is true to life. Those events I mentioned are seen in the first volume ALONE. Some events didn't happen the way they did in real life (For example, Gen watching his father and two of his siblings die right in front of his eyes? Only his mother was there to witness it.). However, they still happened.

In contrast, World War Two isn't that important to Grave's story. The movie is more personal, focusing on Seita and Setsuko's failed attempt to survive on their own. Many people have interpreted the story as being anti-war, and while I can agree there are some aspects, my idea of what Grave meant to me is a bit different.

This movie, to me, is about the loss of innocence and what happens when you can't move on from that. Seita is a teenager, not a child anymore, but not an adult yet. He refuses to suck up his pride when forced to move in with his aunt, under the assumption that he's a lot more mature than he actually is. This ends in utter tragedy for both children, and if Nosaka's "double-suicide story" is any comment, you can interpret Seita's death as being less by starvation and more by despair.

The story of Grave, when you know the backstory of it's creator, is a tale of a man looking back at his mistakes in hindsight. It's not so much a story of the horrors of war as it is a fable of regret and impulsivity. If you swapped out the setting for, say, the Great Kobe disaster, the Tokyo earthquake of September 1, or even the 2011 tsunami and nuclear meltdown, you wouldn't notice much of a difference, would you? I think that's why more people remember Grave than Barefoot Gen, simply because that story is more universal.

Characters



Both story's events were based on the authors' own lives, as were the people in it. The Nakaokas of Barefoot Gen are the Nakazawas with one kanji changed. Throughout the entirety of the first volume, we are told the following: "This is the Nakaoka family. They are going to die in August. This is why you should care about them."

And you do. Even when the world is at it's worst, the Nakaokas manage to make the best of it. They stick together, their love keeping each other optimistic and hopeful that their lives will improve. I can say that the relationship of the Nakaoka household are some of the most well-written and believable relationships I've seen in fiction.

Of course, Grave of the Fireflies also has great character-writing in it's two leads. We all know by now that Seita is just Akiyuki Nosaka with a different name. Keiko is now Setsuko, and the adoptive father is now the children's biological mother. Interestingly enough, Nosaka had another sister who passed away from illness during the war.

What I find most interesting about Seita is that while he dearly loves Setsuko, he has no idea how to take care of her properly. Rather than get a job and help bring in money to support the two of them, he instead wastes time taking his little sister out on field trips to the beach. Seita knows what will make Setsuko happy, but not what will keep her safe and healthy in the long run, which leads to her eventual death by malnutrition. If not for his own childish selfishness and unwillingness to deal with his temporary circumstances, Setsuko AND Keiko would have survived.

Final Thoughts



Towards the end of his life, Nakazawa grew too ill to continue penning manga, shelving a potential sequel to his magnum opus. His own mother had succumbed to radiation-induced cancer in 1966, and so would Nakazawa in December of 2012 at age 73. Almost exactly three years later, Nosaka would pass away from old age at 85. Among the writers community, both are sorely missed.

You could say, however, that both men haven't truly died. Their stories have made them effectively immortal, their experiences passed down from generation to generation, even long after they themselves have passed away. Both Barefoot Gen and Grave are cautionary tales, warning of the dangers of extreme nationalism and stubborn impulsivity. The events in these stories should not happen again, these authors say, and whether or not we readers choose to listen is entirely up to us.

Next week:



I talk about the song, "The Real Folk Blues" from Cowboy Bebop. Thank you all for reading. What did you think of today's topic. Tell us your thoughts, and I'll see you next time!

***

Today's Pimp of the Week is Peace on Earth. Fitting in with today's World War Two themed post, I decided to showcase a short film made during the dawn of the war. While it is Christmas-themed, the short's powerful anti-war message rings true throughout the year. In battle, there are no winners, and only losers. You don't have to wait for the holiday season to watch this amazing short movie. Just make sure you don't see it before going to bed.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Akane the Catgirl



Joined: 09 Oct 2013
Posts: 1091
Location: LA, Baby!
PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 12:45 pm Reply with quote
So, a brief update!

First, I got a terrible cold that left me bedridden over the weekend. I am so sorry for the inconsistent schedule, but I know you all understand. My Cowboy Bebop post will be on Tuesday, and after that, I'll try to get my regular schedule back up. Thank you all for your patience. If you have any animation-related questions, feel free to ask and I'll try to answer them to the best that I can. I'll see you soon.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
nobahn
Subscriber



Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 5120
PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:05 pm Reply with quote
^
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Akane the Catgirl



Joined: 09 Oct 2013
Posts: 1091
Location: LA, Baby!
PostPosted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 12:12 pm Reply with quote
Hello and welcome to Akane Analyzes! First off, I'd like to thank nobahn for his kind thoughts. I would also like to thank every single one of you for being patient with me. Lastly, I'd like to make a special shout-out to my little brother, who moved out of the hospital a few days ago and just celebrated his birthday this past Friday. Thank you all once again for your support.

You know, I think I've neglected mentioning Yoko "MYOOOOSEEK" Kanno a little bit too long, haven't I? What has she done, anyway? She's a nobody! All she's got on her résumé are six solo albums, countless anime and video game composing credits, and THE GREATEST ANIME OPENING OF ALL TIME.



[Sometimes, you've just gotta default to the classics.]

However, today's post is not about "Tank!". Besides, what can you say about it? It's pretty much musical perfection. No, today, I'm going to be talking about the not-often-discussed end credits song, "The Real Folks Blues". I feel like it deserves to get it's due here on Akane Analyzes. (Relatively old) SPOILERS! This post will be spoiling several plot points from Cowboy Bebop, up to and including the ending. Be wary.

The Song

Too much time has passed
To lament that I loved you
The wind's still blowing
Through the unhealed gash in my heart

Somebody cry for me with dry eyes

THE REAL FOLK BLUES
I just want to know real sadness
A life spent soaked in the muddy river's not so bad
If it's over after one go-round


The Speaker And His Lover



[NO DUH.]

Yep, this is Spike Spiegel's image song. On the outside, Spike seems to be this care-free, laid-back cool cat who doesn't give a damn what you think, so long as he gets his paycheck at the end of the day. That's the reason he's got a big fanbase over here, as far as I know. People are naturally attracted to that sort of devil-may-care personality Spike possesses.

However, if this song is any indication, Spike is EMPTY inside. Once upon a time, a space hitman met a woman named Julia. However, their meeting was not quite an ordinary one, as Spike was on death's door the first time he encountered his beloved. She nursed him back to health, and the two fell in love. There was only one problem.

Spike's best friend at the time, a man named Vicious, just so happened to be dating Julia.

You can imagine how well Vicious took his best friend and girlfriend seeing each other behind his back. With the threat of death looming, Spike must go on the run and separate with Julia. His entire goal is to find his love again, even just one more time. Heck, there's a chance she might die before he can reunite with her.

For now, however, Spike might as well be a zombie. Since his falling out with the Red Dragon Syndicate, all he's been looking forward to is an unguaranteed reunion with Julia. He can't even bring himself to care for his fellow Bebop crewmates too much, for fear of losing them like he did with his love. He doesn't even care how sucky things get, because to die would be the greatest adventure yet.

Connection to "See You, Space Cowboy"



Fun Fuct: this was supposed to be the original end credits theme song before being swapped out at the last minute. Interestingly enough, this song seems to be a very specific response to "The Real Folk Blues". Rather than reminiscing on a lost love, "See You Space Cowboy" is about how the speaker's love will go on, even beyond death. With lyrics such as, "Love never dies, love never feigns, love never ever fades away", you can see it's much more optimistic than the former song.

It also isn't a coincidence that this song plays after Julia's death and during Spike's last stand against Red Dragon and Vicious. He's just lost the woman he was looking for, just as they were going to finally escape the madness together. But is that going to stop him? Of course not! And in the end, he gets to join Julia in death, having accomplished everything he needed to.

Final Statements

In the end, "The Real Folk Blues" is one of the most underrated ending theme songs I've heard, which is suprising because this is Cowboy Bebop. I have to accredit this to the superb opening, but I think the ending theme deserves just as much love for it's amazing score, memorable imagery, and relevant lyrics. Same with "See You, Space Cowboy".

Yes, I must reiterate that I've been neglecting Yoko Kanno after all this time. I may prefer Yuki Kajiura by just THIS much, but Kanno is a pure musical genius. It feels like she really understands who Spike Spiegel is and how much his relationship to Julia means. But what do I know? I'm just someone with a computer who likes to listen to anime soundtracks.

NEXT TIME:



We're gonna talk all about doing the sex, you s**tbugs. Thank you all for reading! What did you think of today's topic? Make sure to leave a comment below on any topic discussed so far, and I'll see you soon.

***

Today's Pimp of the Week is West Side Story because I CANNOT GET THESE SONGS OUT OF MY HEAD. Leonard Bernstein must suffer. Oh, he's dead already? Never mind. LA LA LA LA LA AMERICA...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 7:07 pm Reply with quote
Akane the Catgirl wrote:
However, their meeting was not quite an ordinary one, as Spike was on death's door the first time he encountered his beloved.

I think he actually first met her in a pool hall with Vicious. The three hung out together for awhile, and then he came to her for help when he was wounded and they fell in love during his recovery (although I think for Spike it was love at first sight).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Akane the Catgirl



Joined: 09 Oct 2013
Posts: 1091
Location: LA, Baby!
PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 12:36 am Reply with quote
@ Gina Szanboti

Actually, I did do some reasearch regarding your comment, and...no, Spike and Julia did meet after the former was heavily wounded during a gunfight. Even with that, the framing and editing heavily suggests that was their first meeting. I will admit that when writing this week's post, I was mostly going off of my memories of watching the show a year or two ago.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 2:54 am Reply with quote
Do you have definitive information that says so (Wikipedia doesn't count here)? If not, then I will concede that it's open to interpretation (as are a lot of things in Bebop!) and would like to hear how you drew your conclusions. Smile

As for my reasoning, the views (from Spike's pov) of Julia in the pool hall with Vicious looks like he's seeing her for the first time to me, and when she turns around it looks like she's seeing a stranger, not someone she knows yet. Whereas on the street, she seems surprised and concerned to find him there injured when she was apparently just going out shopping. If she didn't know who he was, or more important, whose side he was on that got him shot up, taking him into her home instead of calling an ambulance or a taxi seems like a pretty dangerous thing to do for someone with her involvement with the Syndicate.

Also, if he first met her on the street, I think it kinda messes with the timeline. If that was their first meeting, and they fell in love during his recuperation, then it seems strange that as Vicious's girlfriend she didn't already know who Spike was, unless she became Vicious's gf after she fell in love with Spike, which doesn't jive at all. It makes much more sense if Mao brought Vicious into the Syndicate, Vicious hooked up with Julia, then Mao brought Spike on board and he subsequently met Vicious's girlfriend at the pool hall, then deliberately went to her as someone he could trust when he was in trouble.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Akane the Catgirl



Joined: 09 Oct 2013
Posts: 1091
Location: LA, Baby!
PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 3:37 am Reply with quote
I will admit you have a point. I'm planning a rewatch after Monster, so I'll probably go and edit after rewatching. Thanks for your comments.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 3:52 am Reply with quote
I've been looking forward to the Monster analysis. I'm sure you'll be hearing from me on that one too, since Urasawa loves him some ambiguity! Bebop and Monster are my true loves. Very Happy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Akane the Catgirl



Joined: 09 Oct 2013
Posts: 1091
Location: LA, Baby!
PostPosted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 10:24 am Reply with quote
Hello and welcome to Akane Analyzes! Before we begin, I'd like to thank Gina Szanboti for her comments and advice. Thank you very much. Your comments are very meaningful to me.

Hey, remember your awkward teenage years? You know, when you were still in that phase of thinking you're automatically mature while having no clue what to do with yourself? That time when you're still trying to figure things out about yourself, up to and including sexuality? Yeah.

Well, The Flowers of Evil covers that last part pretty well. The story follows one teenage boy in the Japanese countryside as he explores his sexuality. Takao Kasuga falls in love, makes mistakes, and learns life lessons along the way. Oh, and did I mention that he almost gets himself killed once or twice? So today, we're going to focus on sex in The Flowers of Evil.

Spoilers. This post will not only be spoiling key plot points from the Flowers of Evil anime, but it will also be spoiling events from the original manga, up to and including the ending. You've been warned.

Trigger warning. This post will be generally discussing sexuality and will be talking about sexual assault, rape, and suicide. If you're uncomfortable with either topic, you've also been warned.

The Title



[More like a flower of self-hatred, am I right?]

So, we'll start by explaining what the title has to do with anything. Flowers of Evil (or Aku no Hana if you want to be pendantic) is translated from Les Fleurs du mal, a poetry book by Charles Baudelaire. The one thing you need to know about Les Fleurs du Mal is that Baudelaire got fined by government censors due to the book's content, that being eroticism and homosexuality (specifically lesbianism).

If that weren't enough, Les Fleurs du mal is featured very heavily throughout the manga. In fact, Kasuga leaving his copy behind at school kick-starts the entire plot, because that's when our hero first finds The Gym Clothes. It is this book that is the favorite out of all the works of literature that Kasuga consumes. Even an illustration from Les Fleurs du mal was reworked into the Flower of Evil image above.

Nanako Saeki- The Virgin



[She might look sweet and innocent, but try to break up with her, aaaaand...]

What's most interesting to me about the first half of Flowers of Evil is the story's examination of the virgin whore complex. Specifically, it does this by pitting Kasuga's "Everyone should be a virgin" belief against Nakamura's "We are all whores" philosophy. Nanako Saeki is Kasuga's waifu, so to speak. She's the best in class, beautiful, popular, and the kindest person one could ever meet. "[Saeki's] my muse, my femme fatale..." says Kasuga at the beginning. When he learns from Nakamura that his Madonna wants to have sex with him, he thinks "It's a lie...Saeki of all people...she wouldn't be so vulgar! She's an angel. A Virgin Mary!"

In Volume Five, we find out that Saeki ALSO thinks of Kasuga as a virgin. Throughout her life, the pressure to be the perfect woman has left her feeling empty. The reason she fell for Kasuga so hard in the first place was because she felt he saw her as a person, which is ironic because See Pargraph Above. That there belies the entire problem with their relationship. Saeki and Kasuga's "love" isn't based on anything human, but on idolatry and self-delusion.

Of course, by the time we find this out, our protagonist has already broken up with her to pursue Nakamura. This all culminates in a horrifying scene towards the end of the volume where Saeki rapes Kasuga in a desperate attempt to win him back. In addition, if what she said to Nakamura afterwards is true, Saeki also wanted to punish the former for leading Kasuga astray. Any chance of Saeki's virginal image being intact is dead by the end of Volume Five.

Sawa Nakamura- The Whore



[Can you say "f**ked"?]

Never before have I seen a character as messed up as Sawa Nakamura. She blatantly disrespects her teachers, refuses to socialize with any of her peers, and if the epilogue from her perspective is anything to go by, it's possible she might have an undiagnosed mental illness or personality disorder. Nakamura is the dark counterpart to Saeki, an evil seductress who bullies our protagonist into doing humiliating acts for whatever reason she wants. Even her character design reflects her nature, as in most shots, her eyebrows are hidden by her bangs, leading to an uncanny valley effect.

At the beginning of Flowers of Evil, Nakamura blackmails Kasuga after seeing him sneak The Gym Clothes home with him. It is here where her attraction to our protagonist begins. In her mind, everyone is a pervert, and the world would be a better place if humanity just acknowledged it. Thus, when she finds out that there's someone just like her, for the first time in a very long while, Nakamura has hope.

However,like with Saeki, Kasuga's relationship to Nakamura is completely unhealthy. His love for her is born from self-hatred and a desire to punish himself for something as normal as feeling sexual desire. Their relationship turns destructive, and the two form a suicide pact to immolate themselves at their town's summer festival. At the last second, Nakamura spares Kasuga from a fiery fate, perhaps through a small moment of genuine love for another human being.

Aya Tokiwa- The One



I'm going to be honest and say that I didn't find the second half of the story to be as bad as some fans say it is. While I agree it isn't AS good as the first six volumes, I still felt that the second half was well told. Part of it is because of Kasuga's character development into a stronger person. The other is because of his relationship to Aya Tokiwa.

After both the panty raid that Kasuga and Nakamura pull off and their double suicide attempt, the former moves with his family to Saitama in an effort to start over. It is at his new school that he meets Tokiwa for the first time. She's kind and pretty, kind of like Saeki. However, Tokiwa is just as much of a bookworm as Kasuga is, and the two bond over their shared love of literature. Eventually, their friendship evolves into a romance, with Tokiwa leaving her on-and-off again boyfriend after Kasuga confesses his feelings in front of the both of them.

What's so important to me about this relationship is that THIS is what a healthy bond is like. Kasuga's love for Tokiwa isn't built on blind devotion or self-loathing. Instead, their romance is based on mutual interests and respect. They bring the best out of each other, and when they finally do have sex, it feels like they've earned it.

Conclusion

At the end of the story, Kasuga and Tokiwa take a trip to Chiba to see what Nakamura's been up to since that fateful night. After all this time, she's been doing much better away from her small town. Sure, at her core, she's still that same lonely and troubled soul. However, Nakamura manages to make peace with Kasuga and Tokiwa, telling the former to live his normal life in the only way she can.

The Flowers of Evil is a fascinating look at sexual awakenings and the relationships between men and women. Let's be honest and say that we all were Takao Kasuga at one point, believing that we were so much smarter than everyone else. We all had our own trials and tribulations with our sexualities (or, in some cases, lack of sexuality). But at the end of the day, we managed to make it out fine. In any case, I'm glad my teenage years are pretty much over. Now excuse me as learn how to file my taxes.

NEXT TIME:



I answer a question that's plagued anime fandom for over twenty years; why do people hate Shinji Ikari so much? Thank you all for reading! Do you have anything to say about this week's topic. Leave a comment below! See you soon!

***

Today's Pimp of the Week is for The World of Tomorrow by Don Hertzfeldt. I don't want to sound cliche, but I have to say this; this film's deep, man. In this excellent short, a young girl named Emily meets her third generation clone and learns about the distant future, which is not very cheery. The film exists to pose this question: In a world where death is no longer finite, what does it mean to be alive? The answer is up to you.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
nobahn
Subscriber



Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 5120
PostPosted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 10:38 am Reply with quote
^
You might want to change the following:
Akane Analyzes (Spoilerific). This week: Cowboy Bebop.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Akane the Catgirl



Joined: 09 Oct 2013
Posts: 1091
Location: LA, Baby!
PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 9:03 am Reply with quote
Hey, everybody. You know what I haven't done in a while? A Q&A session. Do you have any anime or animation-related questions to ask me? Feel free to do so right here. I'm in a good mood.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Anime All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous    Next
Page 9 of 32

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group