In today’s rant at Megatokyo, Fred mentions how some REC viewers found the final moments of the show’s first episode to be troubling. I’ve noticed the same reaction, and find it a bit perplexing.
After all, when you consider how often romance anime teases the viewer with near-sexual situations or, for that matter, pleases with graphic fanservice, why would two adults having consensual sex be shocking? Yes, I understand the complexity of the couple’s situation, and agree that Fumihiko could be charged with taking advantage of Aka in a moment of weakness, but as far as sexual encounters in anime go, the scene in question was pretty vanilla.
Honestly, compared to the original manga (NSFW!), the REC television series is about as scandalous as an NHK documentary!
Kashimashi is a great show, but there’s something that’s been bugging me: Yasuna’s “inability” to see men. It strikes me as an unnecessary gimmick, to be honest. After all, it’s been strongly suggested that Yasuna’s a lesbian… wouldn’t that alone be enough to explain her renewed attraction to Hazumu following his transformation? Why complicate matters unnecessarily?
Of course, it’s possible I’m not seeing the forest for the trees here. For example, Mr. Spaceman obviously has some interest in Yasuna, suggesting a possible connection between her “condition” and Hazumu’s situation. And I suppose it could be an intentional loophole, ready to be exploited should Hazumu return to his original form at the end of the show. You know, “Yasuna’s not a lesbian! With her condition cured and Hazumu back to normal, they can live happily ever after!”
Awfully convenient, you say? It’s anime. Start placing your bets.
As for Tomari vs. Yasuna, I don’t know yet which cheering squad to join. After all, it’s really not as clear cut as, say, Honoka vs. Suzuka (FIGHT!). I really like Tomari, and I agree that, as the (apparently) straight, childhood friend, she’s getting the shaft (ha!), but I don’t see how that’s Yasuna’s fault. For that matter, I can’t fault Yasuna for quickly moving in on Hazumu when Tomari’s been doing nothing but spinning her wheels since the very beginning. And, if you consider Hazumu’s feelings, it’s only natural that Tomari be the one left out. In other words, if Tomari wants to win, it’s her responsibility to step up to the plate. Until then, she’s in no position to condemn Hazumu and Yasuna’s budding (hawt shoujo-ai) relationship.
God, what’s become of me? Anyone want to talk Korean soap operas?
Insomnia sucks. But, it’s Saturday and it’s snowing, so I have an excuse to lounge around all afternoon here at home.
Diamond Dust Drops fans rejoice, for ADV has released a promo pack of artwork for the show via BitTorrent. The wallpaper images included with the pack are the same as those on the postcards that came with the R2 boxsets (which I own). It had always bugged me that the postcards weren’t large enough to scan and use as desktop wallpaper. Problem solved!
In an old house in the middle of the mountains, a little girl lives all by herself. That girl’s name is Binchou-tan.
Today, Binchou-tan worked hard in town. There, she met Mr. Rabbit, who gave her a special treat. “Candy?” asks Binchou-tan. “Have some after dinner,” says Mr. Rabbit.
Tonight, after a long day’s work, Binchou-tan takes a trip.
Now that the blog has been up and running for a week, I’ve made some tweaks in order to improve the Hop Step Jump! experience. Or something like that. Anyway…
A Lighter Shade of Gray
The ugly dark gray background is gone. I actually wanted to use light gray from the very beginning, but the color scheme for the rest of the site proved to be an obstacle. Why I didn’t think to use a shadow in the first place, I don’t know.
It’s the Little Things
Font and link styles have been polished. To be honest, I really don’t like having so many different link styles (I subscribe to the “Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should,” school of web design), but the structure of the site sort of requires it.
Tag, You’re It!
Posts are now tagged by anime series (assuming the post references an anime series). I’ve added a nifty tag cloud to the archive page for quick and easy navigation.
The Missing Link(s)
I’ll be updating the blogroll on the links page to include some forgotten blogs (sorry!) and new blogs that popped up in my absence. I want to thank everyone who added Hop Step Jump! to their blogrolls this first week. While I expected a warm welcome from the community upon my return, I never anticipated the red carpet treatment. I intend to pay it forward.
To Sidebar or Not To Sidebar
Having the blogroll on a separate page has proven a bit inconvenient, but I don’t want to add a sidebar for the sake of the blogroll alone. Still, a sidebar may show up in the future.
In the Name of Good Taste
I promise never to post another ugly picture like this one again.
I think this is supposed to be clever. Effort doesn’t automatically guarantee success, you know.
I avoided watching Mai-Otome 17 for a few days… couldn’t work up the nerve, I suppose. I finally got around to it last night, though. Honestly, I don’t think my general opinion of the show has changed much. However, the fact that it’s now embracing its trainwreck nature is clearly a positive. That is, it looks like the show is finished beating around the bush. It’s all terribly silly, but I got a lot of perverse enjoyment out of it nonetheless.
A few thoughts…
I dug the twist regarding a certain character’s betrayal, but I’m curious as to why the scriptwriter showed his hand so early in the episode. It would have been a far more shocking development had he not started hinting at it from the first few minutes. The “gotcha” moment in the sewer was a nice touch, though.
I thought the death scenes in Mai-HiME were over the top, but geez. A montage? A freakin’ montage? The only thing missing was the gospel choir and a stirring eulogy from Major Wong.
Also, I don’t quite understand why Nina gets so angry at the end of the episode. I can understand her being a bit unhappy with how things have played out, but, spoiled little brat or not, that’s no license to go on a killing spree.
Finally, it’s nice to see Natsuki’s as useless as ever. Some things never change.
