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EP. REVIEW: Sakura Quest


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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2017 8:34 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
(how plausible is it that he actually built a working exo-suit by himself in his garage?)


Unless this shows is happening in the future (say 20 years or so) not at all. There are some small attempt at those kind of suits, most are backed by large sums of money (says DARPA) and huge research efforts. Part of the problem is that they require a lot of energy and they need to carry that energy, so the more electricity it needs, the more battery it needs to carry, the more battery it needs to carry, the heavier it gets, the heavier it gets, the more energy needs to be spend on just supporting the weights and so on. So unless he found a way to make an incredibly efficient battery, he's suits would be at best only workable for a few minutes.

As far as the town budget, I'm not quite sure how japan city budget works, but in most of the world small city receive large handout from various level of government and so I assume that this works the same ways in that city. Even if the city is self sufficient, I really question how wise it is to spent so much of your budget on tourism, which after 40 years have almost nothing to show for it. They could instead have spend that money to develop other industries (hell investing it would probably give better return). I suppose it could be possible that all the various shop of the town decided to give some money every months to the city tourism board, but I doubts that would be sustainable for something that has so little to show for it (over time we're probably talking 30-40 millions of dollars), I doubt the shop would keep paying that, heck I doubt they have the finance for that.
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mc55





PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 12:01 pm Reply with quote
I have to say Kazushi and the grandmother both got on my nerves in this episode, but especially Kazushi. It's his right to have his crafts and interests and only care for them and such. But the part that bothered me is how he self-righteously soapboxes as if his devotion to his craft alone while not caring about whether the town dies out or not is somehow morally superior to the blogger moving there for health reasons (to be fair, maybe he doesn't know), or the girl trying to at least do something for the town.

Granted, again it's his right and I can understand and even admire his passion. But for him to self-righteously condemn others from a perspective of "don't mess with my craft and tradition" while not giving a rat's behind about others in the town or what happens to them makes me immediately dislike him. He has a point about his craft and such and it's his life to do with and see as he wants, but I don't find his moral outrage very convincing when it seems partly motivated by apathy and lone woflism taken to an extremely selfish level.
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Alan45
Village Elder



Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 9807
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 12:44 pm Reply with quote
I think both sides are partially right in this conflict. Kazushi and the grandmother are right that the promotion intended was both tacky and disrespectful. More to the point it was undoubtedly going to fail. It is one thing to surrender some of your pride for the greater good and another to lose it in something doomed to failure. On the other hand the girls, or rather the people behind the girls are right that if nothing is done the town is likely to simply die, and may do so before at least Kazushi is ready for it.

I think the problem is that they are looking for a "magic bullet", some promotion that will instantly revive the town. That is simply not going to happen. Tourism is a slender reed to lean on and done well takes years to promote. Sudden fame, like any bubble, usually results in an equally sudden fall. Instead of one big Answer, they need to be looking for multiple small answers. A modest tourist attraction based on local specialties, an attempt to obtain businesses that are no longer city dependent and a reason for people to want to live there either seasonally or permanently. Some ideas may come from the fact that two of the team are actually refugees from Tokyo.

It will be interesting to see what answers, if any, they come up with and what success, if any they produce.
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mangamuscle



Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 2658
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 1:05 pm Reply with quote
meiam wrote:
Part of the problem is that they require a lot of energy


The other part of the problem is that since the exo-suit receives no input from your brain (like your arms and legs) it has to guess the axis and speed of your movements and when will it stop. For that you do not need a mechanic, you need a software wizard like Itaru "Daru" Hashida from Steins;Gate.
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mc55





PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 2:06 pm Reply with quote
Alan45, I agree with your basic point. The issue is that Kazushi just does nothing but self-righteously rail at others. He neither offers any constructive advice, nor does he even seem to care about those outside of his bubble. He also spouts some nonsense about having "passion" as the reason to move somewhere without knowing (I presume) the circumstances of the blogger moving, and thus projecting his weird logic and assumptions onto her. At least, I hope he doesn't know (we don't know what she says on her blog and if he read it even), cause if he does somehow and still laid into her like that, it makes him look really bad.

I am hoping they will make him seem better in the next, what, 21 episodes, but right now, he really irritates me a lot.

Look, I'm not defending their idea as the best ever, cause it's not. I'm just saying that someone only caring for their narrow area, making assumptions about others, so on, is not someone to look down their nose at others.

I will say that you defended the guy's position far better than he did and made me more sympathetic than the very annoying character.
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Merida



Joined: 21 Feb 2012
Posts: 1945
PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 2:25 pm Reply with quote
mc55 wrote:
Alan45, I agree with your basic point. The issue is that Kazushi just does nothing but self-righteously rail at others. He neither offers any constructive advice, nor does he even seem to care about those outside of his bubble. He also spouts some nonsense about having "passion" as the reason to move somewhere without knowing (I presume) the circumstances of the blogger moving, and thus projecting his weird logic and assumptions onto her. At least, I hope he doesn't know (we don't know what she says on her blog and if he read it even), cause if he does somehow and still laid into her like that, it makes him look really bad


But didn't "the blogger" (i think here name's Sanae... Wink ) basically say that Kazushi was right about her? She didn't move there "for health reasons", she worked herself to the bone in Tokyo, thinking she was irreplaceable and when she realized that she wasn't (which is a pretty healthy lesson to learn, actually), she ran off to the countryside.
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mc55





PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 2:52 pm Reply with quote
I misheard it. I'll stand corrected, though I would argue that mental health is just as important as physical health, since I have such myself. And wanting to move somewhere for your own peace of mind is a good thing to do.

And even if he had a point, it doesn't change the fact he is a very mean person who essentially only cares for his craft and own small world and doesn't give a damn if the town dies out or not. There is no way of looking at his behavior, his meanness, and his selfishness/self-absorption that (so far) makes him look good. AT least to me. In real life if I met someone like him, I'd think poorly of him and not be friends with him.
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Alan45
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Joined: 25 Aug 2010
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Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 3:31 pm Reply with quote
@mc55

I wasn't disagreeing with your assessment of Kazushi, being right is no reason to be obnoxious about it. In his defense, he sees what they are doing as a desecration, which it basically is. I'm sure those poorly done chupacabra heads had been nagging him for a long time. He mostly comes across as single minded, which is common among people really dedicated to their craft. Unfortunately such people are usually too concentrated to notice the world going to pieces around them without realizing that it is the world they stand on too. I think he just lost it and said things he probably regrets.

What they girls should have been doing is promoting alternative uses for traditional woodcarving. Just because the ranma they mentioned is no longer used for room to room air flow, doesn't mean they are not beautiful and can be used as decoration or in other architectural places. They should talk to him to see if he can do smaller (and less expensive) decorative pieces.

The old lady simply comes across as malicious. She is so busy fighting change, she would willingly pull the world apart around her for a win. The old guy who came up with the chupacabra idea is a fry short of a happy meal, at least he means well, but you know what they say about good intentions.
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mc55





PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 3:36 pm Reply with quote
alan45

That is one way to look at it that I like cause it makes him more sympathetic. He's so focused and probably seen so much disrespect that the young women at the tourism bureau just had the unlucky lot of being the proverbial last straw. I've no doubt you probably are much closer to the actual plot than me. I kinda am single-minded myself and can't see subtletly so well, to say the least.

Oh I know you weren't entirely disagreeing with me. I just thought that you had some good points. Thanks for this great convo all. I like the give and take.
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gdpetti



Joined: 10 Apr 2017
Posts: 23
PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 8:50 pm Reply with quote
I like the show... that bubble tourist attraction of the chupabacra? was weirdly gimmicky, but it seems to be only a plot device of the excess of that bubble time... and as others stated, the large town/small city is back to its previous life and times... and really shouldn't waste resources on trying to be something it is not... that woman's opinion... it's true, and Japan isn't an exception, if not for immigration the USA would be in the same boat... the rural areas might not have reduced overall population as much as seems to be the case in Japan, but the number of kids in the schools have halved in the rural areas, towns, small cities.... peaked in the 70s through 80s... the number of homes have actually increased but less people in them.. some singles, but less kids per household.

The attraction of the cities is inherent to most civilizations... on purpose, rather magnetic, as that is where the 'action' is.... best for the under 30 set, as cities aren't known for being kid or family friendly places to live.... thus the suburbs started, and the long commutes so that the dream of a home etc could be acquired. Millennials have a tendency to reverse that with urban living so far, but with all that school debt, they have essentially already spent the money to buy a house... thus the current decline in housing, and all the industries that go with it... furnishings, appliances etc... lawn and garden... More people means more of everything, good and bad.. so adjustments are made in terms of personal space... you have to get used to having none in most metro areas like Tokyo... or even LA with most everyone in a car on the freeway... so it's a matter of choice as usual.

The element not mentioned so far is rather historical. Cities are the basis for the creation of empires.. and their expansion... based in the egomania of its rulers, the need to control the masses, much easier in any urban environment.. and history, is the story of these cities that take over everything around it. Most rural areas wouldn't mind separating themselves from these cities.... something not often mentioned... as cities need the rural areas to support them, not the other way around. Towns and villages survive quite fine without the cities, but cities are by definition dependent upon the provinces.... and seek to control them politically, financially et al mostly through propaganda... the mass media, internet is no different... all the major outfits are supported by the 'establishment'... here in the West anyway, including China Korea, Japan... etc... Facebook, Google, MS, Apple, Twitter, et al, are all part of that network, and that's why they take off so fast, succeed so fast, get all the attention, essentially free advertising on the networks... members of the club.

I doubt this anime will get into any of that stuff... which, if you keep pulling that string down the rabbit hole, will take you in a very esoteric direction..just ask Alice.... sort of like Alice to Zouroku in some terms. Wink I find this anime has a certain pathos undercurrent due to this situation of wanting more than there is, but that is the drive that pushes any and everyone that seeks more out of life... and this guy in charge of the tourism bureau is just that type... he had a taste of the good times during the bubble years and wants it back.... but that is essentially impossible.. that bubble burst long ago in Japan back in '89 though the central govt in Tokyo has kept it propped up with debt since then... to stay in power.. to keep the people, the masses, the sheeple in their pen, under their control... as all govt is about control, shogunate wasn't any different, right? The reasons the countryside areas are seeing all their kids leave, isn't just the draw of the big city, but the sucking of this central govt.... as a lure to the little fish, to keep the empire of debt going... it's a Ponzi scheme.. and the USA, EU, China are all playing the same game... it's a Ponzi/pyramid scheme that can't go any further... the debt load has to double in nearly every president term here in the States.... Japan's BOJ has bought up close to 2/3's of the market... same situation is occurring here, the EU, China is trying to correct course, but it's like turning the Titanic only after getting way too close to that iceberg...(and i won't get into the fact that it wasn't actually the Titanic, but its sister ship, the Olympic.. insurance scam... so typical of those in power/control).

It's interesting to see it have a 24/5 ep season as an original work... nice setup overall... and they are dealing with the real issues which is interesting... I think that's where this anime is headed... the reality of their situation... I hope they don't do some miracle tourist trap plotline with it(a new Chupabacra)... so far, it's been rather realistic, I'd like to see that continued... even though it won't be as popular, the truth never is... fantasies are always better. Cool
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mc55





PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 11:07 pm Reply with quote
My guess is that the ending will be a slight uptick in tourism combined with income from other areas, and most importantly it will be a psychological good ending. I mean that I think the folks will stop being apathetic. I mean that a group of 8 folks (the three guys and when the blogger gets back five women) are too small to make a difference. But the lead and her friends will give hope to the community and snap them out of their apathy. That in turn will lead to some modest gains. It won't be a salvation for the community, if they stick to the realism angle, but it can end with the potential of doing better. I think that is how they can keep it realistic and have a happy ending.
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gdpetti



Joined: 10 Apr 2017
Posts: 23
PostPosted: Mon May 01, 2017 2:31 pm Reply with quote
Agreed.... though I would like to see a look at the inevitable pop of the bubble... but that is going to be pretty much global... and rural areas suffer less, because they benefited less... things are rather static in rural areas, which is why the under 30 set want to leave... looking for more 'action'... which is fine until these bubbles pop, then the cities are usually worse places to be. Every town/city can't be 'special'... can't be the capital or center of things... the good or the bad.... though the later isn't mentioned much... just hinted at.
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AholePony



Joined: 04 Jun 2015
Posts: 330
Location: Arizona
PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 5:08 pm Reply with quote
The reviewer says that Shiori's core conflict was revealed in just a few scenes, did I miss something? All I can tell is that she has some attachment to that home and a relative owns it and the prior owner died. Still leaves a lot of room to be fleshed out to me, I wouldn't call the details behind her attachment that we haven't heard​ yet a foregone conclusion.
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HeeroTX



Joined: 15 Jul 2002
Posts: 2046
Location: Austin, TX
PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2017 1:19 pm Reply with quote
While I don't think the montage was "necessary", I do think it was useful and interesting for Maki's development. It shows just how MUCH she loves acting. The bit with the tree especially stood out to me, since she was going to be acting as a tree she actually went out and "studied" how a tree moves so that she could get it right. Of course, she also rehearsed and was filled with anxiety as she mailed off what I assume was an application for a school, but I think it was useful to show just how much she DEEPLY cared about all that even as a child. Her bit with Ririko and her father's profession make me wonder if she'll later get into teaching acting.
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TasteyCookie



Joined: 19 Jan 2017
Posts: 421
PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2017 1:32 pm Reply with quote
I'm a sucker for insert songs (and think they should be used much more often) so I couldn't help but love the montage scene. Plus it helped in showing Maki is more than just some washed up actress. She did indeed love it and it was a big part of her life, we had been told so but really had no proof.

I could definitely see why it wouldn't work for everyone though as it was very tonally different than the other characters development. Though it was fitting that the actress would be the one to got the most exaggerated artistic expression of their inner feelings.
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