Take A Pick Tuesday: "The Tale of Princess Kaguya"

 Take A Pick Tuesday: The Tale of Princess Kaguya “Chances”

 

With the Tale of Princess Kagyua nominated for best animated feature at the Oscars, some might ask or feel it’s not worth to ask, I’ll pose the question though, what are the film’s chances of taking the golden statue home. I say not asking because many have their reservations when it comes to the Oscars, some things tend to be a bit predictable and how many movies have we wished would get nominated and wasn’t. I pose the question though because on occasion the unpredictable happens, I never expected Spirited Away to win best animated feature and yet it did. As an anime fan we feel the rest of the world is far away from understanding what we do, a fair opinion, to us anime is much like TV, you have certain shows with critical acclaim, others less so, something though we watch both. Movies are the same, great films come out at different seasons for different reasons and the majority don’t find their way to the Oscars. To some even playing the foreign card doesn’t work, there is a whole category for Foreign films in the United States and their acclaim can be taken seriously, mostly because it’s help shaped film and Hollywood movies in general. So couldn’t the same be said for anime of the present, the past and the future, well of course it can and I think there is a bit of pride in seeing something you’re a fan of being noticed by others. No it doesn’t need to be noticed per say, we watch it to enjoy it but I can’t really see a fault with an anime film getting nominated or even winning.

  The film is breathtaking in every sense of the word but that might not be too surprising considering it’s coming from Isao Takahata, the director of Grave of The Fireflies, Pom Poko, My Neighbors The Yamadas and many other titles you really should take the time to look for, find and watch. Someone of course had to enjoy the film for it to get nominated and if you’ve kept up on anime news, you’ll see it has been in several film festivals as anime often does. Still some might say it isn’t worth bothering when all the other big wig companies have their films in there for nomination as well, Disney’s Big Hero 6, Dreamwork’s How To Train Your Dragon 2 (which snagged the golden globe), Laika’s Boxtrolls and the Irish film Song Of The Sea. To its competition’s credit all the films nominated were fantastic and certainly they do deserve the nod. I’ve heard a lot things said about 2014’s year in animation but I found it to be stronger than the previous year, not only that but the choices are more diverse, many of the films even the mainstream ones did something truly unique with their story telling and some their animation. Naturally there are plenty that aren’t mentioned but there are certainly far more in the category than when the Academy had reduced the selection to only three.

 

       The reason that people are still interested in the Academy Awards despite films getting a better shot in other awards shows is because I think they’re waiting for something surprising to happen. The chance isn’t all that lost on the film, the director is while not as recognizable as Hayao Miyazaki to the average audience excluding most of the anime community, someone with a amazing track record with film. This is his final film, he’s a part of a prestigious studio in which this would be their fourth nomination. The story in it is very potent and not nearly as predictable and formulated as average film can be at times. So there is definitely a chance but still the question is why bother, well there is a greater reason I think.

 

         That real thing is just simply being pleased that it was nominated at all instead of focusing  on if it stands a chance let’s instead, more so because there is plenty to enjoy about the film. Going into it, I had read that visually it would be stunning and of course the trailer did a good just of making that example, though there shouldn’t be cause for concern with Takahata’s film, the real question was story. What I got from it was something very potent, in fact much is said without the characters really having to say it and then of course there are the things that were said. A middle aged bamboo cuter finds a little girl inside who he brings home to his wife, a girl he can only imagine was sent by those who hoped she would have a great purpose in life, expectations are the key here. The girl who the man begins to call Princess and the kids in the village call Little Bamboo, gets older in a  matter of minutes, sometimes she’ll be doing something like playing with the children and then you’ll see her getting taller, older. It’s subtle though not so much that you don't notice the slight change but it isn’t center stage, naturally the characters notice this too. Right from the start it seems as though this girl has brought something from somewhere, yet as mysterious as being found in bamboo can be, she seems content in the life that she has. Unfortunately she isn’t the only thing that is found in the bamboo, kimonos and gold and this is enough to convince the man that found her, now her father, that she deserves a better life. One in the capital as opposed to life in the village, the problem is he doesn’t ask her if she would want that and while his love for her is clear it shows that a parent’s hopes and expectations being placed on their child, especially when it seems they are the ones getting the pleasure out of it, can be a crushing thing.  It’s sad to see because though the life may have seemed too simple to her father in where she was, it was life that she was truly happy in, the greatest concern that a parent should have.

 

       While it’s sad to see the girl taken from her home, it does show what Takahata always excels in doing, capturing moments in japan, whether present or a part of history, if you don’t know as much about certain eras of japan or certain customs at one time or another than you will find this movie to be the perfect opportunity to introduce you to it. How did they prepare princesses with the make up, what do they change about them, how must they walk at this particular period, how ediquette diticated that they must sit behind  blinds anytime a suitor came knocking, and why was it considered a thing of beauty for those with Kaguya's teeth to be colored black.  The importance of learning to play an instrument. Worth researching and reading about yourself if the film brings the interest to you.  For they are things that are enlightening to those who do not know but all the more isolating for Kaguya.  All of it was meant to be for Kaguya’s wellbeing but at the cost of the girl who once she comes of age seems to have to be subjected to suitors at her father’s whim, spending most of her time trying to drive them away, sometimes with disasterous results. She is torn between her desire to be free as she was and making her father happy.

      It’s unfortunate that her mother can’t change what’s happening but it’s also a sign of the times. Can Princess Kaguya find a way to be happy in a life she had already been happy with in the beginning? In some ways she certainly tries to but the film is realistic in showing the limitations in this. Yet there are moments of escape in simply wishing to be away, something more rooted to her being found in the bamboo.  As heartbreaking as the film can be at times and as serene in other moments it’s easy on the eyes. Resembling a Japanese painting the film is versatile in going from colors warm and loose like a vivid dream, white present in a majority of these moments on the edges, melding with parts of the background to scenes that call for rapid movement, tension or portray the inner turmoil of the girl.  At times grey comes in floods and the animation can depict tranquil beauty as it can show scenes of despair. That’s only a hint of the wonderful animation you would be in store for. Of course one of the scenes that shines in this can be found in the trailer where it seems all she wants to do is run from where she is, breaking down the doors as she runs and shedding the kimonos, the expectations of her father, the life she has come to hate.

 

        The film of course is based on the folktale, The Tale of The Bamboo Cutter. While the story does unravel as if it is one, it also feels very personal, which I’ve always liked about Takahata’s films even when there is humor and in some works a zany factor at times, there is deep heart to the stories. While people might debate on which film is the director’s best for years to come, you can truly say that this was a great symbolic farewell to film and anime in general which he helped change so much. When we look at that it helps to not think about if the film is going to win or not, instead it’s easier to understand that Isao Takahata’s goodbye to anime was so important to so many.

Take A Pick Tuesday : Golgo 13

Take A Pick Tuesday: Golgo 13

 

 

 

 

 

Golgo 13 is a manly anime series, qualified to be with the some of the manliest of them all but that isn’t a bad thing and with the basic plot of the series it isn’t all that surprising. Although I may be doing pushups while I’m writing this, it isn’t a series that knocks your head over with being manly, we’re not talking steroid induced screaming for half an hour. It’s manly in a smart, sometimes suave, sometimes brutal way which can more often than not be a thinking oriented show, a problem that must be worked around.  If you’re not sure what that means then take the plot of the show. Based on the manga by Takao Saito, Golgo 13 is a series and in the case of this article an anime, about Duke Togo aka Golgo 13, one of the top assassins in the world, willing to work for anyone you can afford his hefty price.  A silent man who’s almost entirely emotionless and entirely mute, he makes no expressions when making love with women, who ask him not to leave afterwards and trusts no one. Don’t ever stand behind him trust me.  Golgo’s assignments spread to all corners of the world with clients that range from anything you can think of. More often than not the story isn’t focused on Golgo, it is more so on the client or the target at least and our assassin is in the background, once the job is done he usually walks away from it the way you do when you clock out from work. Yet that is one of the most interesting parts about Golgo 13, you see an array of characters/clients,  some seem to have good reason for hiring Golgo some aren’t that great of people.  Whether there right or wrong on the hit they order, you can bet your odds that the job will get done regardless.

 

        For the most part we’re focusing on the anime series that came out a couple of years ago, brought to America in four sets, later one big beautiful 4 disc Blu ray set and spanning 50 episodes it is nowhere close to comparison to the manga that has been running since the 70’s Yet there are enough episodes to understand why the manga has been running for so long. Indeed lots of material to go from and then some.  A particular favorite of mine “Sharp Shoot on the G String” is when Golgo is hired to shoot the string off a violinist that was hired as a replacement for his client,  the shot would be during the concert, while the violinist is playing the piece at that particular part, in that very moment. It also showcased that Golgo wasn’t always hired to kill someone, it can be for something far more creative. Even when it is a kill it can be quite creative. In that respect you get an insight into how Golgo preps for a hit or whatever the job entails, scoping the land, the height, various factors that would go into it and timing, timing is everything in this show. It reflects Golgo’s stoic behavior and why he is such a badass for this reason that would make a normal person shake with anxiety. There are assignments he gets where he must go out of his way to save someone for example break them out of a prison which would mean going to prison himself, once breaking them out then he kills  them. As shown in the episode “Sleep Inside The Cage” and some assignments that require a different sort of infiltration such as the one when he’s hire to do a hit on a leader of a cult in “The Saint With A Stench of Death.” You’ll also see him butt heads with other assassins, deal with double crosses and sometimes overcome the flaky behavior of his clients, which isn’t always one particular client but could range from The US Government to the Mafia to the police.

 

 

       The anime series isn’t the first time Golgo’s has graced the screen in fact with his long history there is no surprise that there has been numerous times the character has graced the screen. From his appearances in live action films starring the legendary Ken Takakura and then Sonny Chiba in the 70’s. To animation in the 80’s with the anime film Golgo 13” The Professional and the 90’s anime film Golgo 13” Queen Bee to the last anime series that is our focus directed by Shunji Oga a great choice considering his familiarity with the franchise. What’s interesting about the series is despite the seemingly separate hits done in the show there is a general plot brooding underneath which helps anyone whose unaccustomed to a 50 episode series based on a very long running original comic to stay on board and get hooked. If your wondering about Golgo’s past it plays with itself, overwrites itself in the manga but still gives you pieces that do remain solid truths about our mysterious assassin and if you watch on will find a few bit of it in the show, like all things it’s still intense and a bit sad, the emotions are present in the anime, deep enough that you could never feel alienated from them even if it’s seems like Golgo himself is. There’s also enough flirting with realism, in the prep and know how for the hits to get someone who might not necessarily be into anime to watch it or at least try it and though people wonder if some of Golgo’s hits are humanly possible, perhaps for hits such as in “The Glass Fortress” and they do get pretty elaborate and impossible like but that is part of the charm of the series, the concept of the hit being pulled off has an allure in itself.

 

With the manga having reached the collected volume of 175 volumes it might make you curious to read the manga, not to worry although VIZ hasn’t gone the whole long mile or miles, they have left a collected amount of volumes highlighting “some of the best stories” the series has had to offer in its long run. The anime movies aren’t too hard to chase down per say and the with the Blu ray collecting the entire anime with an affordable price, you can watch Golgo punch people in the face that try to stand behind him in the comfort of your own homes. There’s also various places that when it was released it was available for streaming and there are a number of places that are still ready at the click of a button such as Hulu and The Anime Network. Golgo 13 really is a stable in the manga/ anime world, it isn’t hard to see in references in dozens of shows and manga that have come since, for the history alone might have people jump on board but overall the anime itself is well done, capturing the feel of Golgo 13 and giving him a modern day setting that he could play with as best as all the decades he’s had in the manga.

We The Lost Civilization Found

We The Lost Civilization Found

 

Built brick by brick

Brought down brick by brick

Where we lie to rest

Built on top of the next world, the next civilization

Voices are layers, on rocks, on bricks

In bones, in the dirt, all things disintegrated

All things preserved

Wonders of us as there were for us wonders of before

All things pass

But do all things come again

The lone stranger in the midst of what we had once been

To the cities underground we once lived in

To the day to day we know that must be guessed of

To the struggles that defined us

Warnings of what could bring them down with us

Warnings of our past mistakes

Are we forgotten if they are here

Are we alone if they try to put us together again?

If these lone strangers try to put all that was us, all that was forgotten

Back together again

Brick by brick

AT THE MOVIES : A Letter To Momo

At The Movies

 

A Letter To Momo

 

 

 

 

Moving to a small island name Shio with her mother who grew up there as a child, Momo is filled with a silent regret and disconnection with the new place she is forced to call home. Her thoughts remain with the memory of her father and unfortunately, it is her last words toward him in an argument she would remember most before he died, all that was left of their conversation that day was a letter she found left unfinished, only with the words Dear Momo. It’s only her guess in what her father would have said and with her mother more distant than ever before, stuck somewhere she doesn’t want to be, it seems that indeed she will never know what her father wanted to say to her and in turn what she wished she could have said to him. Except something else is happening, it starts when she sees her mother off, a shadowy figure that seemed to  beside her as she had waved to her.  How terrible is what she’s seeing and how is it connected to the thefts happening in the orchards. Its then that voices follow until she sees three yokai, who are as surprised as she is that they can be seen, the answer to everything strange that’s been happening since she’s arrived, except it isn’t going to end there.

 

    Momo now fears for her life with these three yokai and though they seem to steal, eat, and well behave as demons, they appear for some reason to be harmless, though they never apologize for what they are which I like yet that doesn’t fool Momo , of how dangerous and threatning she believes to be at first. Who knows maybe her distrust in anything they say is also stemmed from her father’s death, if not that’s just one careful girl but to be fair it is a normal reaction to seeing something like that. The film tends to favor that approach more than anything else, despite all it’s wonder and some of the aspects of the show seem to be favored through fantasy, this is a human story, a story of amends and one that is indeed very relatable to anyone that wished they could have said something to those they’ve lost. It’s also shows that grief isn’t anything that leaves in the blink of an eye, it stays with us, it changes us and what becomes of us is a question the movie asks.

 

        As she spends half the film running from the yokai and finally threatening them until the truth becomes clear that these three, a large one with a beard and a large gaping wide smile and the closest to appearing human, a middle sized jelly belly jaded looking demon with a toga to match his bad attitude and a cute little demon that seems very emotional and very endearing even if it horrifies Momo at first. It might look like a skinny burn victim but it’s one of the cutest demons I’ve ever seen. Here is where the humor lies in the movie between her and these three yokai, who might become the hopeful connection between Momo and her departed father.  Except they spend more time causing trouble than anything else, we’ve mentioned the food stealing and it isn’t like Momo has anyone else she really can count on. Not to say they aren’t there but there is the sense that she doesn’t count on them, or anyone really except maybe her mother but the movie shows there is a gap ever widening between them and the appearance of the three yokai don’t help things. There are the the other kids and her grandfather if only she overcome the clear hesitation in trusting anyone or getting close with them. The problem isn’t something that she hides as it instigates and brings to a head an argument with Momo and her mother, who seems busy all the time doing the things she has to do to take care of the both of them even though it helps to hide her own grief for her husband. Something we are shown a part of but Momo can’t see this, it might be something hard to even comprehend through her guilt, how much of her father’s passing still affects her mother even to the moment of their argument.  Can Momo find a way to trust in herself and have her words reach her father somehow, as well as find the courage that’ll be needed to protect those closest to her, something she will have to redefine along the way? This might include her mother someone she may have to be there for as much as she hopes will be for her.  

 

           Addressing her hesitation we can’t overlook the influence that the other characters have on her, her grandpa might not necessarily think she’s nuts for explaining about the yokai, in fact through his father he knows the story of them, how they’re like, giving her a little insight to the three she’s stuck with. Which is a comfort, in fact both grandparents have a relaxed attitude and even if she can’t really talk to them about what’s going on with her, it’s nice to see that they are so friendly with her, it would be much harder if she was stuck in the evil family in a new place routine. Then there are her friends, her mother even tried to get her to be friends with those that would reach out to Momo, including a young boy with a little sister. That’s where hesitation in her life and the regret from her father seem to show their greatest in the film, the inability to have friends shows how it affects her daily life and will prevent her from accepting the island as her new home. Of course with the little boy Youta there are brief interludes, where he shows her his grandfather’s straw boats and various other things, it’s a good example how it would be if she could let people in. The strongest symbol of her hesitation is the scene where she’s invited to go swimming with Youta and the rest of the group of kids who quickly accept her because Youta is more or less their leader and told them so.  There lies another issue, she isn’t faced with a group that need time to get use to her, they accept her right away and I think that Hiroyuki Okiura did a great job by showing us that all her answers to adjusting to her new life are actually there, she just has to accept it. Where they turn out to go swimming is a bridge that they have to jump off of and when it’s her turn she can’t, with all of them staring and waiting for her, she ends up leaving and it shows her greatest problem is herself. Not that I blame her, there were an awful lot of rocks down there and they were diving right next to them!

      Though I think it shows how isolated and alone Momo is at that point and it definitely connects well to the rest of the movie, the problems that have been like storm clouds come to a head and it leads to a whole slew of emotional scenes which ironically do include a storm. Which is almost a metaphor of what she must overcome to come to a conclusion for her grief, get an answer from her father and protect the aspects of her life that are important to her. As well as emotional these scenes are visually stunning, quickly transforming the deep breathes and long shots of the quiet life on the island to the urgency and the magic that will come out of it, the yokai in the midst of a storm is all I’m going to say but the scenes in it show two different animation styles, the realistic emotions on the faces of the characters and the style of the demons imaginative and colorful colliding to really leave you in awe.

 

It was the first time we saw Hiroyuki Okiura in the director’s chair in over a decade, in fact it’s been since the terrific Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade. What has he been doing since that time, why working on this film for the most part and it shows, he’s spent the last seven years working on the film in both the script and the storyboard work and of course was director.   Although Letter to Momo might be lighter in tone compared to Jin Roh, it has in common with its predecessor the fact that it packs a powerful punch emotionally and helps to prove why Okiura is one of Japan’s best storytellers. There are scenes that will remain with you from the scene at the end with her and her mother on the beach and a boat they sent out into the ocean to her father, to her telling the yokai how she will never forget them and the response she’s given by the least likely of the three, the jellybelly toga wearing demon. From the quiet scenes, to the scenes where characters are throwing their pent up emotions at each other, to the honest humor and misdeeds of yokai,  A Letter to Momo is a must for anyone no matter their comfort zone when it comes to anime.

The Man You Never Saw

The Man You Never Saw

Out of the shadows as one passes over you

A muffled scream, a cry snuffed out

Out of the darkness in which he never leaves

The reason is beyond him, morals others to question

He is the absolute isolation

Something more than lonely

A thing you’ll never know

A ghost of an idea, a whisper of fear

A tremble to the ordinary

The claws that come for the routine

He is always there and you will never see him

But always he’s something more tangible than a figment

A truth that will never leave

Something they’ll pretend to believe, just a story they’ll say

The man you never saw

Never in front of you, existing only behind you

The shadow that passes over you

Take A Pick Tuesday : Detective Conan

Take A Pick Tuesday: Detective Conan

 

 

 

When it comes to mystery in anime, Detective Conan should be first on your lips, if it isn’t than what’s wrong with you. Only kidding but if you haven’t seen or heard of Detective Conan. Then what’s wrong with you. Detective Conan or Case Closed as it is called in America has been going with this year, in serialization for twenty years. Lot’s to catch up on then right? Not necessarily a bad thing in fact considering it’s still running it might be the most fun you’ll have, over twenty years has showed how many dimensions this shows has, how it can defy the problems and slips up in long running titles especially in mainstream, yes I’m ready to defend that and develop even more dimensions ever since. The show is a love letter to Mystery but truly it is a love letter to so much and it’s never something it’s ashamed to show.

 

       Detective Conan follows Shinichi Kudo son of a world famous mystery writer and world famous actress and is considered a teenage detective prodigy, a modern day Sherlock Holmes who happens to be Shinichi’s idol. Taking his best friend and obvious love interest Ran Mouri to a theme park he witnesses a shady deal going down between a business man and a man in black. While observing he’s blindsided by a second man in black he was unaware of, knowing who Shinichi is they decide to feed him an experimental poison and leave him for dead. What happens instead through some strange miracle and curse Shinichi’s body shrinks. Distraught by this he seeks the help of his neighbor Dr. Agasa who explains how important it is for his identity to be kept secret because if those two men in black and the organization they are a part of, ever find out he’s still alive they would not only kill him but no doubt kill everyone around him that he cares about. When Ran who was left in the theme park comes to Dr Agasa because he disappeared finds what she thinks is just a boy who hmmm happens to look like Shinichi, one who Clark Kent style put on his father’s glasses and backed to the bookshelf in fear that Ran will notice who he is told the combination of two authors names, Arthur Conan Doyle and Edogawa Ranpo to form Conan Edogawa.  Thanks to some convincing in Agasa’s case and other circumstances later Conan will stay with his girlfriend and her father, a down in his luck detective at their home/ agency.  A perfect resource to ride the waves of cases that might come by and hopefully find the organization and manage to turn back to normal.

 

 

         It takes a little time to get use to for Shinichi or now Conan I should say to get used to his new life, for one thing he has to live as an eight year old again, most won’t really take what he has to say seriously although they’ll learn how sharp he is, too sharp sometimes that he has to tone it down a bit or explain he saw it on TV or somebody told him it like Ran’s father Kogoro Mouri or Shinichi himself. He’ll gain friends who will come to mean a lot to him including one, Ayumi the little girl that will take a liking to Conan who obviously can’t return it and sometimes doesn’t notice it. Yes Conan can be a little oblivious to things when it comes to love, usually that only pertains to himself he can notice it in others but not as much as you think, not by a mile most of the time. It’s also clear why Ran’s father never gets any cases, he was a cop and knows a bit of Judo but shows himself to be a bit of a bumbling idiot ( a bit?) and a gambling drunk the majority of the time.

     Yet thanks to Dr. Agasa, Conan can use his great deductive skills and helps solve the crimes that they’ll run into every episode. How you say, why gadgets of course. All the short comings of being a child again are made up for by Agasa’s gadgets, a stun gun wrist watch which will put Mori usually although it can be Ran’s friend Sonoko to sleep and a voice modulator bowtie to adjust it to their voice, to make it appear as though their talking and eureka you have a way to solve the crime. But sometimes it’s the pursuit Conan needs help with or a way to defend himself, this is not a children’s manga/anime just because it has the main character as a kid again and he has a group of friends that are in Elementary doesn’t keep it from getting pretty hardcore. We’re talking kidnappings, murder, bomb threats, even assassinations play a role in the show week in and week out and it could get pretty gruesome. So Doc Agasa manages to make some nifty things for Conan so he isn’t chopped into a million pieces along with his friends and Ran, even though she’s a black belt in Judo doesn’t mean she can’t get blindsided are downright scared. She’s only human right.

      The gadgets are the powered sneakers he can use with his kicking skills he developed in soccer, his belt that can shoot out a soccer ball that can stay inflated for ten seconds which he gets a little later on, the solar skateboard to chase down a car or get to somewhere fast in an emergency. Something that is shown in the movies and TV show quite a bit but has only been featured in the manga a couple of times and the overalls he can use to lift heavy objects which I’ve really only seen like once maybe more than that.  Conan though has his mind which is his most powerful weapon, extremely resourceful and highly intuitive, he is the modern day Sherlock and with his cool under pressure behavior and gadgets a bit like James Bond too, he’s got a bit of a charm without trying when it comes to the ladies.

 

         What Detective Conan has in abundance to match the amount of death is heart, never for a moment will we not be reminded of the fact that Shinichi is so close to the one he cares about but so far away. Both Ran and Shinichi have a lot to say to each other but most of the time its damn right impossible. He managed to convince Ran that he’s got a series of cases that just lead from one to the other forcing his leave of absence, see thank the voice modulator bowtie, with his parents overseas there’s no one to really argue his case. But it means Conan has to watch her loneliness and attempt to cheer it up as well, if you’re not reminded of it in the show in that particular episode, then there are those longing feelings that come from the openings and endings. Take heart though that even though he might drop the ball at times when he needs to get a hint about their relationship, he is kinda romantic, leaving a piece of him in some way, in most occasions and it’s pretty obvious he’d jump through a burning ring of fire for her, not to mention there are times they look back and you can see how much their meant to be together and how it sucks that he is with her but not really. It doesn’t end with them, there’s a lot of characters in this show, lots, and a quite a bit of them have love interest or long hoped for love. It’s really something the way they manage to incorporate it and I’m happy to say there is a good amount that does develop. 

     There is of course also heart that drives the motives for the cases, driven for some reason, some seem downright petty, others seem messed up,  yet it’s plausible because well let’s face it people kill for all kinds of reasons and people die for all kinds of reasons. Whether they seem petty are have a very large driving force behind them you’ll see Conan speaking through Mouri are one of the inspectors like Megure speak out against it, bottom line killing isn’t right. Something that is reinforced episode after episode. And there lies the value of life in a show where murder happens almost every episode. You got to respect it for that. The ones that are truly screwed up are the murders that happen because of a misunderstanding or they totally misread the situation, there are plenty of those and it only takes  a click to see it happens in the real world too. Some of those can be really harsh and the others are strong lessons on why killing is not the answer, makes you want to communicate better too. 

 

       The show also makes you wonder if everyone is in debt, blackmailing each other, killing each other and hiding it for years, taking credit for people’s work and so on because everyone seems to have this problem and it’s kind of funny when they out their dirty laundry right in front of Mouri, Ran and Conan, funnier because that too isn’t something that is completely implausible. Gosho Aoyama the creator of Detective Conan/Case Closed must read the news every day and see he isn’t too far off the mark at all.  That is the beauty of the show too for its long length even episodes that aren’t in the manga are just original cases and they can be just as creative. Each week a new case helps, especially when you’re wondering if something new will turn up on the trail for the organization which can have large gaps in between and of course there’s plenty to come with that, many of the new characters actually have some kind of role to play in that and that can be pretty exciting. Of course you have other characters like Heiji Hattori, the Kudo Of The West and Kid Kaito, his rival and legendary thief, who shows up plenty of times and are in the movies as well, it’s fun when they all start crossing over and meeting each other for the first time or better yet when they take part in things involving Conan’s dealing with the organization.

 

 

      Nitpickers beware.  Some might say, how can they not see the little boy running from place to place especially when Mouri is out cold or when he’s not hiding behind something but has his back turned to them speaking in the bowtie as Mouri. The honest answer is because he’s a kid, that’s my deduction on it at least, people tend to not pay attention to kids and it kind of plays into everything else when it comes to Conan having to be Conan. Especially when you can crawl in places you normally couldn’t, being a kid you might reach a place or walk into a room because they think you’re being a kid but they’d hide that if you’re an adult. It works to your favor and it does for Conan and his friends too who decide to form the Detective Boys, a little junior detective group. If you think such a thing went unnoticed by Gosho Aoyama then read a Sherlock Holmes book, you’ll see a bunch of kids, tramps on the street who were his information collectors when he needed info without being seen. The Baker Street Irregulars they were called. It isn't all cotton candy for the Detective Boys either, they'll see the worse of it, the same as any detective and I swear there must be a running joke on Ayumi being the one that some murderer kidnaps or knocks over or puts a knife to as a hostage. How does that girl sleep at night, more importantly how does she still have such a forgiving heart.

       Giving Conan its credit there are plenty of times our main character slips up and quite a few times he has to do something to avoid getting discovered, Ran does get her suspicions at certain from time to time and I’m not saying there aren’t people that figure it out. That my reader is something for you to find out, actually even when he is going unnoticed there are plenty of times that he has to go through a lot just not to get noticed if that makes any sense at all. It’s not easy living a duel life are having the ability to prevent a case from going unsolved or a criminal walking away with murder.

 If you love mystery are this makes you love mystery than there is plenty to go on with over 800 episodes, 19 movies plus a crossover and a new movie that comes out every April, OVA’s, spinoffs, a recent one as we speak and there have been live action adaptions too. Not to mention the references of the love Gosho Aoyama has for mystery (plenty of his other passions show up too), plenty of characters are based off of popular detectives, many of these characters being new detectives themselves, streets, café’s, chase down the references you could be going on forever but that's what makes it so cool, it can turn lots of people on to some great mysteries, novels and all the sort. If you read the manga in the US, he has his own Gosho Aoyma Mystery Library in which he chooses a detective and writes a bit about them. It’s cool to see the detectives drawn in his style  and he choose a novel from the series that he recommends, another way that showcases how Detective Conan has done so much for the genre and transcended it and become such an important stable in anime itself. If that isn’t sufficient reason to watch it then do it for Conan’s evil smiles, I mean look at these:

You'll spot them but nothing trumps that glare in his glasses, it's just perfect. Look out for it!

 

      We’re about thirty volumes behind in the United States from Japan that broken through the 80’s.  As for where to watch the show well it might not be a mystery but there are plenty of twists and turns. Funimation had brought it over for a while, they stuck it out for over a hundred episodes and managed to bring over six of the movies before they found that it didn’t seem to have the audience they would need to push to get more. It doesn’t stop a group from being vocal about bringing more over at every convention and Funimation seems to go back and forth on the idea if they have plans to bring any over.

       As far as a solid answer I’ve seen was no there are no plans and I think until they announce it and it’s listed on Amazon we should just stick with that being the truth. Yet as far as truths going there is a silver lining, there has been of late quite the streaming releases happening for Case Closed, Hulu in particular has acquired both Lupin The III x Detective Conan Crossovers as well as the recent film(s). Then a couple of weeks ago we got the physical releases for them, of course they are subtitled but I think it's wonderful for fans in North America that have held on for so long and it's great to see how dedicated the fan base is.  Although I see why it would be so important to own the further episodes of the show physically, to have on your shelf but all in all your still getting the Conan experience.

        The dub is a thing of mystery itself, bringing different reactions out of different people, confusing for some at least on boards I tend to hear that.They tried to take Case Closed and make it their own thing which has worked for some shows, I love Yu Yu Hakusho in English period, that’s the way for me and I see how it can kind of give it a American noir feel for Case Closed which is awesome but they are clearly not in America and they do make it a little unclear where there supposed to be at times and while the name changing thing isn’t the worse part ( the main characters names in the manga in the US have English names, Richard Moore, Jimmy Kudo, Rachel Moore, you get the idea) the rest can get confusing for some, especially if you’ve seen it subbed first.

      Though if you read the manga and can keep it all in mind than there is a unique charm to the dub and of course it reminds us of the earlier days of Funimation, which can get the blood pumping when you think of how far it's all come.  If you like differences than one really interesting thing is that in the dubbed version there are two different voices for Conan, his older voice when he thinks and his Conan voice when he speaks.

       So does it mean Conan is dead in the water, of course not, now we know it can be watched plenty of places but now the easiest might just be Cruncyroll that acquired it for streaming, showing the most recent episodes but there seem to be plans to bring the rest of the back catalog, they are answering a demand, so there is a strong fan base at work and what makes it even more likely is that One Piece just got it’s whole catalog ( minus the DBZ crossover for now) and even the recent spinoff adaption currently running from Conan, Kid Kaito 1412 is on there. So the chance for the rest of the episodes going on there is great indeed. Especially since it's just reached it's monumental 800 episodes and has all these 20th anniversary plans. There is a Detective Conan store opening in April in Japan, a 20 part important episode arc coming to the show soon, the 20th movie also in April and several more announcement made and to come soon.  So this is a great time to dig in and have a little “ah le le” fun to kick in our new year.

Need A Little More Otaku Talk and All Around Pop Culture Talk, Come Aboard The Rats On A Plagueship where co-hose Sal Alamraz and myself sift through all the news, thoughts and recommendations in the many realms of geekdom.
https://soundcloud.com/stream

 

*This one is dedicated to Jacky Pablo Alexander*   

Happy Birthday Mr. Miyazaki

Voice of Youth

 

When I first heard the news of Christine Cavanaugh's passing a few days ago I was saddened, in many ways it was saying goodbye to a part of my childhood and many that grew up with her voice, of course her amazing voice work which helped to give me a great respect for animation both in US and Japan and the rest of the world will never leave us. We will be showing the many works she has done to the next generation especially if some of us gripe that American cartoons just aren't what they used to be. There are of course many exceptions even to those of us that are the most critical.


      Christine's talent surpassed the average voice acting which is often the way the voice sounds, used for the characters it would fit best, she instead had the talent to use many voices for many characters that helped to make them iconic. Among these voices we've seen Dexter, the boy genius from Dexter's Laboratory, Chucky Finster from the Rugrats and Gosayln Mallard from Darkwing Duck. Not to mention she was Babe and had a long list of roles she played on TV beyond animation. Often her voice acting reminded me of voices of old in animation, talented voice actors that also used a long range of voices, personal favorites like Mel Blanc and June Foray just to name a few. In many ways the shows of my childhood were built on the foundation of the shows these voice actors were in. Which happened to be of my childhood as well. It took me some time to articulate what I really wanted to say if I should say anything at all after all there is respect in life, at least to me there should be and questioned whether I should risk challenging this by writing anything about it. However I came to the conclusion that celebrating her works and what they meant was far better than remaining silent when I wanted to express how much her work helped to impact me.  So if you're unaware of the shows she's been in or films which is nearly impossible I encourage you to look into her works to celebrate the talent of this amazing voice actress.