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This Week in Anime - Thanks for the Memories




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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5294
PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2020 4:46 pm Reply with quote
One of my favourite films, Anime or otherwise. Magnetic Rose feels like the type of film Stanly Kubrick would have made if he had ever made an animated film. The only issue I have with the film is that, aside from a few great scenes(the part where the battleships, tanks and attack helicopters all rain fire down on one person and yet fail to kill him being the best), Stink Bomb feels like one joke stretched out too far. Cannon Fodder's very enjoyable for what it is, and tells a lot about the world in a very short amount of time.

Now that it is getting a Blu-Ray release in America, I hope it gets one in the UK at some point. It's the type of property Anime Limited would typically license.
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dm
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Joined: 24 Sep 2010
Posts: 1346
PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2020 5:06 pm Reply with quote
"Cannon Fodder" always reminded me of CM Kornbluth's short story, "The luckiest man in Denv", in which the Denver and Los Angeles megastructure-cities are engaged in a nuclear war over water. So, yeah: Otomo's 1995 parallel evolution of a 1952 story is timeless in 2020.
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Blackiris_



Joined: 06 Sep 2013
Posts: 535
PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2020 7:27 pm Reply with quote
Thank you for covering Memories! I watched it just recently and instantly fell in love with it. It has aged tremendously well and is a magnificent showcase of animation in all its beauty – the pinnacle of the "arthouse omnibus projects".

Watch it, everyone!
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R. Kasahara



Joined: 19 Feb 2013
Posts: 646
PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2020 7:28 pm Reply with quote
Haven't seen Memories in ages. I think the last time I saw it was in a theatrical setting; I still have the DVD shrinkwrapped somewhere.

Seeing the "Stink Bomb" protagonist again in this piece, my first thought was that he looked a lot like a Naoki Urasawa character, which just reminded me of how much his (and others') work in the 80s was very heavily influenced by Otomo's particular style. Otomo's influence on manga and anime is a force to be reckoned with.

"Cannon Fodder" was the most impressive to me, not just as a technical feat, but the impactful art style and story (particularly the kid's question toward the end). However, "Magnetic Rose" is the most memorable. Somehow, I'd forgotten the plot of "Stink Bomb" until this article, so perhaps that's my least favorite Razz
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FLCLGainax





PostPosted: Tue May 26, 2020 8:43 pm Reply with quote
Oh, yes! One of those art films that sold me as an anime fan back in the days of tape-trading VHS. Magnetic Rose was my favorite segment. Stink Bomb hammered it a little too much with the black comedy, IMO. I used to find Canon Fodder boring, but upon more recent viewings appreciate its visual allusions to Orwellian political commentary (especially with the fake Cyrillic).
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That said, that imagery loses some impact thanks to this particular release - it caps out at 480p and I'm almost certain that's fudging the numbers on a standard definition rip from the original DVD release. So if you've already seen Memories it may be worth it to just wait for Discotek's announced Blu-ray release to revisit.

It was pretty impressive back when I first saw it on a CRT TV many years ago, but we were used to it. I'd imagine a newer Bluray remaster would be like looking at fine art paintings in a museum when viewed on an HD setup. Sometimes digital transfers of cel-animated films may even show finer line detail than what was visible in 35mm projection screenings back in the day.
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rinscewind



Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Posts: 32
PostPosted: Wed May 27, 2020 9:05 am Reply with quote
Please don't think me too un-learned for asking, but I am unable to find the specific definition for the word, and so am unable to learn why there is a 2ndry meaning. Could someone help by defining both meanings and how each applies contextually in the story?

A second question, perhaps answered already by answering the first question, would be is the terming needing to be 'utte kimasu' or 'uttekimasu', as with the space Google translate defines the word pair as 'hear', and without it its defined as 'will sell'. This doesn't help with understanding the joke therein.

Thanks for and and all help in this!
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reanimator





PostPosted: Wed May 27, 2020 7:00 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Haven't seen Memories in ages. I think the last time I saw it was in a theatrical setting; I still have the DVD shrinkwrapped somewhere.


I consider myself hardcore "Memories" fan and I still have Japanese LD box (Black velvet box), Japanese DVD box, OST CD (1st Print edition), Art Book, and autographed JP movie poster. I might have to wait until 4K version comes out.

Quote:
A second question, perhaps answered already by answering the first question, would be is the terming needing to be 'utte kimasu' or 'uttekimasu', as with the space Google translate defines the word pair as 'hear', and without it its defined as 'will sell'. This doesn't help with understanding the joke therein.


You're reading into it too much. "Uttekimasu" is actually (Will shoot / 撃ってきます), not ("will sell / 売ってきます").

"Uttekimasu" is just a joke on everyday Japanese phrase, "Ittekimasu /行ってきます (I'm off to work/school/errand). In DVD and LD, they simply translate it as "I'm off to shoot" and it fits perfectly with setting of the story.
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rinscewind



Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Posts: 32
PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2020 11:10 am Reply with quote
Thanks!

Quote:
"Uttekimasu" is just a joke on everyday Japanese phrase, "Ittekimasu /行ってきます (I'm off to work/school/errand). In DVD and LD, they simply translate it as "I'm off to shoot" and it fits perfectly with setting of the story.
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