Take A Pick Tuesday: Chobits

Take A Pick Tuesday: Chobits

 

 I'm dreaming of Summer, it's many months away (we aren't even in spring yet) but perhaps I'll have awoken by then and until then, I would much rather dream than live in a dreamless state. Summer is the right time to recommend Chobits. After all years ago it was when I first watched it and its impact  on me has lasted ever since. Also what made it relevant to our culture and with the tides of change, its beginning to prove even more so with each passing day. I can’t think of a time these days that I don’t see a major magazine not discuss artificial intelligence, robotics or the debate on its ethics. Certain countries who have robots have found this debate slowly move into a center where all other topics are discussed. This heartwarming romantic comedy had been asking it long before then and asking them well.

 

     Hideki was just a country boy when he found himself coming to Tokyo to enter cram school after failing his entrance exams. It can’t be ignored in the city, everywhere you look there are Persocoms, personal computers the size of humans, robots basically that have begun to be one of the essential needs for people. Hideki knows nothing about them except the women ones are cute like humans, uncanny in fact except for their ears that are like cat ears to tell them apart. The only other thing he knows is that they are extremely expensive.

 

      He finds himself in an apartment he’s sure he won’t be able to afford soon or anything, including Persocoms which keep coming back into his mind. His neighbor Shinbo is also going to cram school and calls it right away on Hideki being a virgin and a bit of a pervert. That’s one of his first introductions to Persocoms, by someone he knows, although Shinbo’s whose name is Sumomo is a mobile version, a smaller almost pocket sized one who every time she sees Hideki says: "master he’s scary.” This is all a little much for Hideki new to the city and fascinated with all the women around him,it doesn’t help that his landlady is as beautiful as is his teacher. Soon so is his co-worker who  Hideki develops a major crush on however everything will take on another dimension when he finds what seems like a woman, thrown on bags of trash, hardly wrapped in anything except a few white clothes, almost mummy like. Sorry had to throw a mummy reference in there.

 

 

 

     Of course Hideki panics, is it a dead body, what should he do until he realizes those cat like ears.  She’s a Perscom, one that has been apparently abandoned. After thinking it over he takes the chance given to him carrying it to his house, first thing he realizes is that adult sized Persocoms are heavy like human beings, if not more so at times.  It won't be the last time he needs to carry her too. Even before the two actually meet, you have a feeling that Hideki would probably jump in front of a bullet for her. Not something that would go unnoticed by others and is proven time and again through the series.

 

  When he takes her home Hideki remembers that he’s clueless, about many thing yes but especially about Perscoms, he was forced to touch all over its body in order to find the on switch until he narrows it down to one last place.  When she comes to life, his life at that moment changes forever, soon others will know. Shinbo will first of course, realizing after trying to check the specs on her that she isn’t just a broken Perscom that says Chi over and over again (which is why Hideki names her Chi) after she nearly breaks Sumomo from her sheer power.

     To say Chi is special is an understatement, even the person he’s referred to, a child, that lives in a wealthy mansion surrounded only by Perscoms especially one in particular, can hardly figure Chi out. Yet she’s missing the most basic things, however it becomes clear that she can learn them.  So Chi becomes a quick learner imitating him even at the worse of time and her devotion towards Hideki is both heartwarming and hilarious. This show does everything right and does it in spades. It can have you watch Hideki try and figure out how to go to a woman’s store to buy some panties without having a nervous breakdown or being clubbed to death for being a pervert in one episode and then question the connections to humans that a Perscom has in another.

       Is it justified or are we replacing a part of our life missing with them, if so what are the repercussions and then does it make it wrong to have them by our side, maybe even love them? Can humans continue down that path and possibly no longer interact with each other?

 

        It easily sorts through these episodes and the connections to the characters, their past and secrets that surround Hideki, you'll never feel their depth isn't explored, quite the opposite and when it’s done and they go back to him it makes his connection with Chi that more potent. Also a certain little mystery starts to foreshadow the whole thing. Even though at so many points I could just see the anime conclude it doesn’t and that’s a great thing. Somehow Chobits does this while embracing some of the episodes we've come to expect from the romantic comedy shows.  It has it’s beach episode, it has what I call Halloween episode which is hilarious for one scene which is Hideki not getting any sleep and explaining it to Shinbo in class and then when walking off nearly using the window as a door. As well as frightening and  a connection to one of the underlining stories.  It’s even got a gaming episode where Hideki and Chi try out what it’s like to go into a MMORPG.  Never does it feel like it's simply going by the model of the genre, it takes these things that we love and does it in the way only Chobits can.

      In these episodes important storytelling is still show and character development, maybe even a few hints for some of the unpredictable twists they have. How can you imagine that Ms. Shimizu or M or Shinbo or any of the other characters could change the focus of the episode so drastically but they do. There is no part of the show that’s a throw away and it makes the experience no matter in what capacity that much more rewarding.

 

         What's interesting is that Chi is so recognizable from this show alone but like all of Clamp shows, it's set in a larger universe. In fact reading the manga or even having ever watched the anime Angelic Layer you'd see that is had taken place only a few years before. Also having set the stage of asking certain questions that Chobits asks in the series. Not to mention you can find Chi in various other shows and manga including Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, xxxHolic, and even Kobata.

     Chobits certainly has an infectious charm to it, juggling genre elements like a pro and I like to think of it as a modern classic. It deserves a go by any anime fan really, it’s never an easy task to bring a Clamp title to anime form. Even so Chobits has a rare quality that sets it apart from the other series. If anything the anime shows that we are complicated as humans as well, having Perscoms in our world doesn’t really change that, it just adds to the already present complexity. How perfect is it that we go through it with Hideki, that could be any of us. Could Chobits be science fact soon, who can say? Some would say it already has.  What we do know however is that there are things that come, cause us to open our heart and we feel like we need to examine it when it does, in that way Chobits does a great job of showing us what’s under the hood. Immerse yourself in it and perhaps you'll see the dream, perhaps you'll be in the midst of summer.  

Take A Pick Tuesday: One Piece

Take a Pick Tuesday: One Piece

 

For as popular as the series is, for as many people that enjoy it, it still amazes me how I’ve never truly seen anything like it. It’s easy to get swept up in the popularity of a show and while that isn’t a bad thing, it can mask shows that truly change the game and shape of things. One Piece is one of those shows, with its wild art, to its storylines, to its infinite array of characters, One Piece has stood strong for over fifteen years and I’ve yet to see it repeat itself. 

      Years of watching this show I’ve come to carry the firm belief that it is one of the most important, intricate layered shows that on every side of it is enjoyment and something truly important, a shining representations of anime as well as storytelling. Not just that but motivation to see the firm connections in our lives as well as it's reflection. Certainly with watching it and those I’ve shared it with, it’s something we can completely agree on. For however strange the world and characters seem they always have one foot into ours, emotionally you can relate to them and feel attached. One Piece allows you to dream with them, hope with them and come off feeling firmer in your belief. It's about living for today, enjoying the moment in a more positive light then is probably associated with the term. This isn't about the impossible odds, it's about overcoming them.

    Yet that is something you expect even from the beginning, that promise of a truly epic story. One thing you can’t wave away is the humor in One Piece, strange characters, strange faces and their interaction shows how it is able to dominate a person’s emotions when they invest in the long run of episodes. How do you go from a character that uses boogers as explosions to a heartfelt promise to a scared whale that has waited years for a friend. From a skeleton that is asking to see women's panties to a queen that makes the unpopular decision to accept humans, trying to  bridge the gap of two species only to pay the ultimate price for it.  What is fear compared to the freedom of happiness. What are an infinite amount of mountain like obstacles compared to dreams. How the hell does a boy made of rubber who starts out without a ship or a crew believe he'll be King of The Pirates.  That is the power of One Piece.   

      Diversity rules the day in this series from the early introductions in the East Blue arc to the promise as they approach the grand line, to them entering their major arcs from then on which is everything from Alabasta, Skypiea, Water 7, to Thrillerbark and  and the game changer War of The Best. Since then the stakes have only continued to be raise, the addition of more plates spinning at the same time, the great zany factor keeps growing and the explorations of characters familiar and new dives deeper with plans to go even further. One Piece is in control of all the corners of this sort of story telling, it's just waiting for you to find out and see.

 

    In the manga on one of the side panels or author notes if you will, it has Eiichiro Oda describing what the life of another type of pirate was like, Vikings. In speaking of it he said that to most they were a terror, a danger lurking, and a based fear. But to them what they did, no matter how horrible, was just them working, they would go home to feed their families. I think in a way its an excellent insight into how this show’s story unfolds. The main focus are a group of pirates with a goal of being the greatest of or the finding something legendary and in all sense though in there case they are the good guys, which makes their pursuers the bad guys though not all pirates are that great ( they are pirates after all) and not all of the navy are awful people. Except the Straw Hats still seem to be the unique exception, there intentions are good and it's through this that they gain a reputation of infamy and they become known to the most dangerous elements of the sea. 

   It’s not so much as the grey line as it is an ocean worth of stories and dreams. Dreams build this show as does ambition, as does tragedy. Your introduction to the main cast has a way of becoming a tear jerker and even some of their adversaries have stories themselves that would shock you.  For those that don't actually know what One Piece is about well as said before, Monkey D Luffy dreams of being King of The Pirates, good luck trying to change his mind, it isn’t happening?  The man knows what he wants.  Against all odds he gets quite the impressive, diverse, unexpected crew. His first mate who sets out to be the greatest swordsman that ever lived, Zoro, who also happens to be a pirate hunter. Nami the thief that in the beginning always seems to have her own agenda but despite this is a genius in drawing out and mapping any destination in the world. Dreaming of one day having the first comprehensive map that entails on lands in the world as well as all the seas.


       Usopp the liar, who tells tales of adventures that were never something he was involved in, until he is and through the majority of the show and even now is a coward. Even so he is the crew’s sniper seeking to live up to the myth that he holds for himself. Sanji the cook, who dreams of seeing the all blue, a fabled ocean who just can’t help but be a horn dog chasing after every woman possible. He fights with his legs because his hands are only meant for cooking. Having survived once at the near point of starvation and thanks to a great sacrifice of another he has kept the value of food close and can cook just about anything. Chopper the reindeer who wants to continue the dream of another in being a Doctor. Something that almost seemed impossible until Luffy and the crew came to Drum Island. His power allows him to transform in various forms we see when we first meet him and others forms he keeps secret. His knowledge in medicine is invaluable for the crew.

      Nico Robin their archeologist who had been a part of an illegal organization only to be hidden from something even more, she dreams of finding the great wonders and inscriptions of an ancient text that are the key to something of great importance. One major storyline that is built and foreshadowed through the series.  Naturally you need a shipwright, someone to look after the ship repair it, or simply keep it from being damaged. Then you have Franky, the shipwright who is the definition of cool. Wavy blue hair, well at first, and wears a speedo and Hawaiian Shirt oh and he’s a cyborg too whose main power source is Cola.  Finally  there is the musician Brook, a skeleton who when they first met him didn’t even have a shadow.  The sole survivor of a crew long since dead who holds a promise he still hopes to fulfill. As sad as his story is Brook usually is in good spirits as is most of the crew which at least to me says something about the enduring spirit.

       Every pirate since the previous King Gold D Roger was executed, have been after his treasure he spoke of right before he was killed, it started a new age of piracy and it is Luffy’s goal too but as much as the journey is for these goals for the crew as a whole and as individuals, it’s also about freedom, to live one’s life, to be happy unchained to the world. It seems so simple but it essence to enjoy life can be the greatest thing to achieve of all not to mention something that you may find challenge you, in fact in the case of the Straw Hat crew there is an entire institution against them as they are of all pirates.

 

       The shows wears humor as if it were its clothes, it is not simply a layer it is the core of the show as is some of its most serious issues and storylines. It also is what makes the show so balanced and so fluid in its animation. If you wonder the depth of this series I think it’s always important to bring up, people that enjoyed it are swelled up in the story that we don’t always speak on what we’re seeing but everyone knows the same thing. The show can go in depth, it’s amazing how much of a reflection you can find from it on us, almost effortlessly from the subjects that range from racism, drug use, corruption, religion, war, friendship, family, even love.

 

With this a massive intricate world is established, one that is stranger and even more fun as you progress.  Everything is more than it seems, you don’t just get pirates, you get pretty sophisticated levels of power, with characters that are infamous from all places in the world. Some of the strongest and most feared pirates are called The Seven Warlords, feared for their power they are granted immunity as long as they come to the aid of the Navy when asked. Then you have the Four Emperors, easily these pirates can be the next king after Gold Roger. Each with their own domain and claim to land, and some of these characters are actual kings, loved rulers, dictators, or straight up war criminals. Others are kind hearted and with closers connections to Monkey D Luffy then you think. Not to mention that alliances at times can be formed, by people more powerful than you can imagine.

 

      Power at times for characters can come from what is called the devil fruits,  they appear as fruit but taste terrible, each one gives a different power, the way the world on One Piece is, many that hold any control or hope and dreams are devil fruit users, not all but Luffy is one of them. His may seem like a strange power when there are so many out there but at least to me it may be the greatest power of them all, the power to stretch his body like rubber. Luffy hadn’t eaten it for the intention of power, like most things he was guided by his stomach, it was an item belonging to his mentor and friend Shanks, leader of The Red Haired Pirates.

      It comes with a cost though, anyone that eats the devil fruit can no longer swim, they drown like a sinking stone. There is even an item used against devil fruit users or has weapons or bars made up of it to contain them called Sea Prism Stone. Still if that was enough to stop the devil fruit users from both sides whether pirate or marine than this wouldn’t be One Piece. It doesn’t stop Luffy or his crew with half of them being devil fruit users. Being made out of rubber does help with physical damage and if anyone ever had a power like say over lightning than you might be the one person that could stand up to them. I’m not saying anything. Even the Devil fruits have their own categories, like I said intricate but I could talk about this all day.

 

      You’ll get to see these users and the many places, every episode is unpredictable, whether they’re on the seas with the weather changing constantly the further you are on the grand line or the islands, all different from each other, some could feel like you’re on a different world. It can be an island of snow with giant rabbits or an island of giants period, high above the clouds or below in the sea, it can be an island where one half is a blazing fire and the other a snow wilderness.  Others are like ports  in normal cities, some are kingdoms. Then you have ones where there are toys and people walking around them.  So it sort of breaks even I suppose.

 

With all these characters and powers and worlds it doesn’t allow you to believe that the Straw Hat Crew are the most powerful. They are beasts of power for sure. Zoro has no devil fruit powers but lifts weights with his legs that are as big as the ship and can cause whirlwinds with his swords, Sanji can air walk and his legs can come down with you while on fire and Usopp can shoot something out of the sling shot and giant plants emerge. Nami with her navigating skills seems perfect to manipulate the weather with her particular weapon. Even so with them and the other devil fruit users, one being a skeleton, they don’t for a minute allow you to believe that there isn’t a threat that can't challenge the Straw Hat Crew. They tend to be outmatched and the power seems to be just to beastly in the series causing them to get stronger as they go through their adventures.  However that shows you there is more to the show than fighting, after all their pirates at sea, through it all they really just want to have fun.  

 

For the collector in every heart you have figures of every story line, millions of variations, along with every merchandise imaginable. As well as being  the champ in the Guinness book of world records with a stunning amount of manga in print, we’re talking 320,866,000. Since then it's broken a whole slew of records. All from a creator that is the lowest profile of a high profile author I’ve ever seen. Well he has his moments I suppose. 

      Oda has been asked a good amount of questions, many you won’t get a straight answer for. There are some things though you can count on, his dedication proves that hard work does pay off. It's been reported previously that the author/artist only gets 3 hours of sleep, sees family only once a year, keeps a small amount of assistants and does a great deal of the drawing himself. Even hospitalized Oda had been found from visitors to still be drawing, it is something he enjoys, saying in a certain way it relieves stress. Mind you the author has a wife and kid but perhaps much like Luffy he knows how to make the stretch to get it all done. Come on I couldn't resist.

      One Piece as you’re coming to understand is a lot of things but above all its heart, so many adventures if done right can have a lot of heart in them. You understand it’s ok to dream, and it’s a reinforced thing in a show that’s gone on for years. You think that’s a lot but spend the time with the characters, with the story and the adventure and you’ll dread every TO BE CONTINUED that they place at the end of an episode. One Piece has a lot being said about it, it’s gone on long enough to earn that and it’s innovative and challenging story telling is why it only grew larger with age, especially in these last few years One Piece is proven to be a global phenomenon. The reason for that is, the depth in one piece, storytelling , characters, dedication  and adventure is an example of a well done anime. One Piece is a dream waiting for us to follow.  

Take A Pick Tuesday: .hack//sign

                                              Take A Pick Tuesday: .hack//sign

 

 

 

These days shows that depict you In a virtual reality type game or both common and popular. One could note Sword Art Online as being the big one but also Log Horizon and even the new Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon. The list goes on and on these days but years ago there was .hack//sign. Let me tell you first watching it, it felt like there was nothing quite like it, in many ways I felt like it was showing the eventual future of not just gaming but also how we socially interact with each other how we mask ourselves as someone else, no one ever truly knowing who we are, what we’re going through. How isolated we are or how much we really need help.

 

     I’m happy and unhappy to say that a lot of that came true. On the technological side it seems like the gaming industry really is looking into those aspects for gaming. Interactive is the key word in just about everything and is very likely to be how everything is in a few years. Same can be said about how we interact socially, we don’t communicate as much as we do on the various networks and devices. While the show depicts this, I’d say people were as awkward around each other in real life as they had predicted. Time will tell though I suppose.

 

    The premise for .hack//sign is focused on a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) called The World. The way the story starts off is in this world, with a character that wakes up as if he was unconscious, unable to remember how he got where he was, possibly who he even is. However you come to find out that he can wield though not always in full control an illegal item, this strange golden glob that has a way of shooting long arms into the characters, killing them. Soon he’ll be hunted by those that are sort of like police, knights in general and those that want to understand and befriend him. At first wanting to spent time with, form travel parties and play the game but then also to journey with but not with frustrations as he tends to push away characters, alienate himself or even make it impossible for anyone to help him.

 

       His real trouble comes with being found with an illegal cat character according to the silver knights and though he can’t recall this it sets him to often warp out of dudgeons and various other places, adding to the impossibility of his character since he’s not supposed to be able to do this. Except he can never truly leave, you see Tsukasa finds it impossible to exit the world. This will lead him to search for the Key of The Twilight something all the other characters will begin to search for as well.

 

The first thing to know about the .hack universe is that it is a massive as the fictional online game it portrays in its story. At the same time of the anime, the very first .hack games were released for the Playstation 2. These events were running parallel to the .hack//sign tv show. The characters do eventually meet in the OVA’s of the TV show. A similar issue happens in the game in which a new character named Kite loses his friend Orca, a legendary character already to a strange figure Seth and is placed into a Coma in real life.  Each game also had a DVD come with it called .hack//limalinty where it deals with characters facing the strange occurrences that are happening from THE World but in real life.

 

    There are even novels that are set during the time of the game and mangasof the sequel shows that would follow as well as books that are set before the events of .hack sign and even during the beta version of The World called fragment. In fact the novels develop a timeline for these events as well as an event called Pluto Kiss in which all things related to the world would come from as is an author who had posted pieces of a story in which The World is based on. Massive is the world for this whole universe and half of it started with .Hack//Sign.

 

Tsukasa seems to have an aimless approach to The World once he realizes he can’t log out. Sometimes it feels like he is hiding the misery behind being unable to log out and other times the freedom of not having to face the real world anymore.  The real word outside the game which is depicted from time to time lacks the color and elaborate beauty that the game world has to offer, sound is almost absent from it although it does bring insight into why Tsukasa cannot log out of the world. While Tsukasa is a brooding character, other characters make up for it with their other emotions and attitude, no nonsense, Mimru, a heavy blade that despite her constant fallouts with the main character is as secretly concerned as the rest of them. She warns him of the circumstance of being pursued by The Crimson Knights and tries to instill a little responsibility in him. Even in the game world people should be responsible.

 

     Then there is Bear who also tries to assist Tsukasa when they first meet but gets a warp out from the main character as a response. Then there is the leader of the Crimson Knights, Mimiru. With her and the Crimson Knights you get a sort of gateway into the state of The World as they speak of the moral issues with certain characters. Sometimes you get big name bombs dropped like the two legendary warriors Balmung of The Azure Sky and Orca of The Azure Sea. That’s right the same Orca who falls into a coma and which drives Kite to try and save and reverse the infection spreading in The World in the Playstation 2 game.  Other characters abound and appear as the show progresses, you get to experience other common things in The World suck a Play Killers and the term PK’d. As the lingering mystery around Tsukasa becomes clearer and perhaps the purpose for him being trapped in The World and what it may mean for the game and the characters in it.

 

       You see hackers and worlds where trash date resides as they battle ideals with people that are supposed to be a part of the company that created the game. It teases what the game knows in aces that there are many dark secrets in The World and some will be attempted to be covered up.  While it is a show about a game it does feel like an adventure story the settings are comforting and the character designs fit well into the world and the various personalities that fill it. What can’t be ignored is the amazing music in the show. An orchestrated hymn like that feels like it’s roots come from the various cultures in Europe that The World would borrow it’s designs from. Almost Gallic at times the composer Yuki Kaijiura. The music can be dark and brooding, epic in scope and intensity and calm, relaxing and thought provoking.

 

      .Hack had opened a place where many shows could also follow, certain aspects about gaming and communicating that has become a part of our society. Even if the show hadn’t done it years ago, it can still stand on it’s own and is worthy of viewing even among a genre with other popular titles. Not to mention delving into The World is immersing yourself the various platforms and it can be fun to connect the dots. How did Balmung and Orca become Legendary Heroes? How did characters Like Aura come about or even The World itself. What is the legend behind the game itself and what exactly is Pluto Kiss, why is it more relevant today than it has ever been. Starting with Another Birth in the Books to the timeline of .hack GU and beyond it with the shows that follow and the movie, .hack is a worthy universe to become a part of and makes us all hope that when the president of Cyber Connect 2 has heard our interest in seeing more in every format, he was speaking the truth.

 

I’ve always loved .hack//sign, it goes without saying and also enjoy the voices provided for it in the English Dub. It’s easy to enjoy shows and the characters, voices and forget that real people are behind these shows making it possible. Real people with real lives that are also trying to make a living. It’s also easy to turn a blind eye to horrible things that happen to them but I find as fans it’s just as easy for us to turn an eye toward it, to reach out and help those that are responsible for shows that in ways help us, maybe helps us grow as people and enjoy them, sharing them being immersed into something much larger.

 That is why I’m bringing intention to the sad news that has befallen actress/voice actresses Brianne Bronzy. A spinal injury on the set of NCIS: Los Angeles from a falling metal grip that landed on her neck according to the report in various new sites. In March 2014 she had already undergone a life threating spinal surgery, its left her in a constant state of pain and no one has really taken responsibility for it, neither worker’s comp or court systems have acknowledged this and will not pay for it. They are raising funds for her required Post Physical Therapy treatments. Below is the portal page to donate to try and help someone in the industry in need. To see more about the Campaign see the Anime News Network link below. Where I first read about it. A portal page to donate money is below the anime network link.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-06-03/campaign-for-digmon-hack-sign-voice-actress-brianne-brozey-medical-funds-launched/.88785

 

http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/in-desperate-need-for-temporary-medical-living-

expenses-/329777

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take A Pick Tuesday : Working The First Season

Take A Pick Tuesday- Working!!!/Wagnaria: The First Season

 

 

 

An interesting thing about anime is that you never know where you can get a show out of, so it makes sense that they would have a show about working or well at least being in the workplace. I know it isn’t the first one to be made but it doesn’t stop it from being a wholly unique experience. In need for another employee Popura Taneshima asks a young man with glasses if he would like to work at the family restaurant Wagnaria, although she’s a complete stranger that asks him out of the blue he says yes, why? That would be because of his love for very tiny cute things and she happens to be very short.

 

      So we hit the ground running and see Sota Takanashi starting at the restaurant but everyone there is similar to him that they are a bit unique for sure. His love of small things that in some terms can make him come off as being a pervert is not the oddest thing this family restaurant has to offer. There is Yachiyo Todoroki who has a fixation on her female manager Kyoko Shirafuji, who also happens to be Yachiyo’s childhood friend,  who eat or snacks I should say more than anything else, mostly this means parfaits that are prepared by her chief waitress,. Even so Yachiyo is a star waitress except for the fact that she carries around a katana with her that tends to make people just a little nervous.

 

        Another waitress and one whose largely focused on is Mahiru Inami, who has androphobia,  a phobia of men so every time Takanashi sees her he gets punched in the face. Although in truth any men is in danger which includes the other employees as well. The focus on her is as large as the various attempts made in helping her get her androphobia under control. The effort means as terrified as Inami is of all men, she takes a certain liking to Takanashi. There is of course certain other issues involving her such as with her father, a major jealous type and Takanashi having to dress like a woman, when the man comes to pay a visit.  Of course you also have the cook Jun Sato, he may be a little more normal except for the way he teases Taneshima with her height, which believe it or not she is a year older than the main character Sota Takanashi. The cook also reminds me of Sanji from One Piece if the pirate cook was less hyper to see women and a little quieter and cool as he is when Nami, Robin or any hot woman is around. He is also in love with Yachiyo but for obvious reasons he can’t tell her this considering her fixation on the manager who had saved her from being bullied and would then become childhood friends.  

 

        Then there is also Hitoomi Soma who seems to be kind of nosy and manipulative but everyone just sort of deals with it, he also works in the kitchen with Jun Sato, no one knows anything about him which he uses to his advantage so that he always has leverage on everyone else. Though occasionally in between lying to certain workers like Taneshima he’ll tip the line and comment on the unrequited love that Sato has for Yachiyo and get hit or have to be face to face with Inami and her androphoiba. In fact his fear like everyone else is if the main character Takanashi leaves then her reaction to her phobia will be taken out on the rest of the men.  The big manager Hyogo Oota whose never really there is gone most of the time searching for his wife and is afraid of Kyoko even though he’s her superior especially if he doesn’t bring souvenirs. Often he’ll have to fear Yachiyo who seems to want to kill him with her sword when she thinks that he’s trying to seduce Kyoko. This makes his visits back to Wagnaria very brief and returns to looking for his wife, though his wife couldn’t even find herself if she wanted to, with her horrible sense of direction.

 

     Although in one return Oota did bring something other than a souvenir Aoi Yamada a mysterious sixteen year old he met during one of his vast searches for his wife.  Soon after she begins to work and actually lives in the restaurant. Although she worries about her place in the restaurant want she really wants is a family, something no doubt brought on by Oota who in the second season she asks to adopt her.  Then you have the quiet Maya Matsumoto who isn’t so quiet on the fact that she is the only “normal worker” among the rest of the staff in Wagnaria, when I first started watching the series it almost seemed like the character was meant to be a joke, in the background always but never introduced, supposedly she is the normal one. Although she gets her occasional moment here and there it’s clear she’s not nearly as focused on as is the rest of the characters.

 

      The show does a fine job at being able to make its jokes without having to cross that cautious line of being old and used,  you know starting to miss the sensitive funny bone spots. At least I keep laughing at especially when Inami sees Takanashi and punches him in the face.There is also Takanashi’s  family who he tries to keep under wraps, though they show them at home. Well most of them shown in the first season anyway. As said there are various love connections in the series, though you could say it’s love that goes unnoticed mostly, something you might believe as a show that will for the most part be unresolved and shouldn’t have any expectations of connections can be something more. If nothing else they leave room by the end of the season to dive deeper on the characters relationships. Time will tell as I get on to the second season and then wait for the third season in works.

 

      The family restaurant is the center piece for the show even if they’re not in the restaurant like when they go to a hot springs trip together though a complication stops them from having a ride over there and Sato the cook happens to drive by and ends up attempting to take them to the hot springs. Though not planning on making another much longer stop he runs out of gas and they end up getting a ride elsewhere leaving him. Even a pretty big episode where two characters go somewhere else, the other characters are meeting about it at work, even though there not scheduled. One of the great strengths of the show is how the characters complement each other. Which is kind of essential in a slice of life comedy and it offers that warm relaxing feeling that brings just a simple joy to watch and may be a great change of pace depending on the show you watched before it. While this means that they also give you sufficient time to understand all the characters, you know without a doubt that there is plenty of room to explore. Though I do like how they get a grasp of each other’s niches and deal with it in everyday situations in the workplaces like Kyoko hiding the toys that come with the kids meals from Takanashi since he’s obsessed with tiny things.

 

 Definitely in some ways it feels like a 4-Panel manga and in fact it is, at least that’s what it’s based off of from the manga but that also can be misleading in the sense of it being non-linear, it definitely continues whatever the story in each episode is, there is just so much going on. Which is a good thing in this instance, especially what they managed to squeeze in on such a short episode count for these season. The charm and confidence in the show makes it unsurprising to see the popularity and attention it has. It’s hard not to feel your spirits lifted when watching it, the only surprise is that it took so long for me to watch it.  Sure enough though I’ll be following the second season with the same enthusiasm.  As well as the third season coming out this summer! It won’t take long either, the first two seasons are only twelve episodes. If anything seems obvious from watching the series is what they promote with the characters that the essence that draws them together is the enjoyment that they having in being around each other, there are a lot of anime that have settings in restaurants or more so in the kitchen these days, if you’re looking for one to start with that might be a little different than Wagnaria might be for you.

 

25 Years of Seeing The Ghost: Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex

                               Take A Pick Tuesday: Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex

 

 

In anticipation for the new Ghost In The Shell film coming out this summer and a desire to spotlight the twenty five years of Ghost In The Shell. We look at its ambitious TV show series Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex.  Often a corner stone in the evolution of anime and one of the titles that managed to influence film  and bring a new generation of viewers from the western world,  it stands as both a technical achievement,  the use of computer animation integrated with hand drawn 2-d animations as well as the dark turn over it’s head dystopian political thriller story telling pinnacle in anime. Of which a wealth of stories would be built on, insight would allow for expansion, which is always interesting but can be boggled down with mixed results but this is Ghost in the Shell we’re talking about, so it’s expanse  brings something else, something entirely new.

 

      After the groundbreaking film and hot off the heels of it’s follow up, in came Stand Alone Complex, a TV show that highlighted an even broader aspect of the themes with the franchise and allowing the real purpose of Section 9 which the main character Motoko Kusgani and the rest of her until work for show more evident.  Some have compared it in some ways to being a cop show and yes in a way they are cops or investigators though what could seem like a procedural cop show genre is still Ghost In The Shell and so it is its own special thing. Truly it is.  Though that really should make sense, the person responsible for bringing the films to life Mamoru Oshii had worked on and would continue to work on Patlabor: The Mobile Police Anime films, show live action films. A classic show that built something new on certain concepts that honestly felt incredibly unique being introduced by these shows and films in the first place.

 

     Many of the issues dealt with in the series are now issues we deal with nearly ten years since, as well as other issues that we are on the brink of looking at, those that may bring questions by certain groups and will become the subject of massive debate. Maybe sometimes in a not so friendly way. While both seasons of the TV show have an undertone, a story line, the individual episodes look also at the concepts and ideas raised.  Concepts of immortality, the ghost in the machine, or even what has a soul to begin with, religion, corruption, refugees, addiction, human trafficking, various political and bureaucratic limitations as well as the things played with behind the scenes, something more than intrigue, misinformation and also obsession and even mythology if you can believe it.

 

      The final theme brought to mind an episode where one of the members of Section 9 the least changed with cybernetic implants internally Tougasa, leaves a 500 yen coin on a body, saying it’s for the river ferry  before they zip up the bag. Lies and truths juggled so much that only the capable hands of someone like Section 9 could make it possible. Though what seems like assisting another section of the government isn’t always what it seems, a challenge they always have to face. As in the films there is a clear interpretation of how governments sometimes work, how sometimes they don’t play well with each other and the fallout from that can be quite something.

 

       There’s something about the way each episode is directed and written, it can easily hook someone no matter which episode their sitting down to. You get sometimes this question at the end and they won’t spoon feed the answer, it’s intentional because in some ways they are giving you the answer.  It leaves it to be thought provoking, even when the answer is actually handed to you, there is the sense of lingering that doesn’t hurt the fresh takes of the episodes.   Another driving force in the series that can't be ignored is the music composed by Yoko Kanno famed for her work for Cowboy Bebop to The Vision of Escaflowne. The sometimes jazz sometimes electronic, sometimes classical  fits very well into the thought provoking series. It's only fitting that such a legendary composer would work with such a legendary series. It helps to show how polished this show is right off from the start. It also invites for a widening scope of what the series is.  The length of the Stand Alone Complex allows more than just themes to be expanded and explored but the characters in it as well.

 

     What was it like for Motoko Kusgani, who has lived in a cybernetic prostatic body since she was young, even since before most had. What desires lie under the surface of the tough as nails major, what memories. That is something you'll definitely see in pieces, whether when helping a child with a prostatic body like herself, a strange place she dives into where people watch a movie they can never tear there selves away from or perhaps the story of when first got her body, how she managed to move on.

         Moral walls bumped into repeatedly and how interesting when Batou is the one to hit them, it allows a little more of what makes him the way he is an understanding thing. Batou has evolved in the films and show, always maintained his humor, he can be quick tempered in certain situations when the wall is hit and he too looks at many of the themes in the show as all characters do in it, interesting contrast to the rather philosophical Batou in the second film Ghost In The Shell 2 Innocence. Or is it really, the times that he gets serious aren't too different from those that are in the movie and there are quite a few times that it involves the Major. Even Batou's time as a ranger comes into play, reminding you that Batou is more than what he shows on the surface. The show isn’t satisfied with just having the Major the fascinating one.

        Certain decisions like not wanting to kill robot dogs, rather running from them out of pity and the anger of a killer he remembers from the jungle are just a couple of twists from the character. Everyone, even down to Chief Aramaki of Section 9 gets a broader tale told, while we are already attached to these characters because of the films we watch over and over again, you grow newfound attachments to the characters as well as get interesting stories into how they became the people that they are.  Not to leave out all the other characters of Section 9 in fact you may get a little insight in who they were before they joined, what might have led them down the path, as well as knowing them beyond what you may have seen in the films.

In the first season the underlining case is dealing with the Laughing man, a supposed remerging first class hacker that had originally become known by bringing a CEO of Serano Genomics at gun point on national television to confess the crime he committed. Which really was a stand on corruption in the corporate world. With this reprisal six years later of the supposed return of The Laughing Man it leaves Section 9 to investigate why exactly this hacker who leaves his trademark smile symbol with the hat on the side. Used to block his identity as well as to hack into major networks and figures. What exactly is it that the laughing man wants this time, what does he bring with his reemergence and how deeply affected will Section 9 be after investigating it.

      Soon it becomes clear that anything that is happening now is linked to what happened six years ago. It has to do with the suppression of a vaccine for cyberbrain sclerosis. Even in the future there are diseases we struggle to cure but instead of approving the vaccine they decided to veto it in favor of micromachine treatment which had already been proven ineffective but the profits they stood to gain from the process were far more appealing. As Section 9 plunges deeper into exactly how this came to be realizing that the laughing man could have been trying to expose something far worse, far more corrupt than what anyone could have feared him to be, it will lead so deep into the government that it will even threaten their existence as a unit.

What's interesting about the case is the how something that stands for truth can be twisted into something that is mass marketed, where does something that reveals what is phony also become phony. It definitely has a way of showing how so many struggles for a resolution to a problem in society can become a problem in themselves.  Which begs the question where does the real Laughing Man stand in all this,  what does he comprise of and can anything that had been the purpose of something such as The Laughing Man really survive intact.  

The second season. "2^nd gig" deals with the individual eleven and starts from the repercussions of the first season.  With a let’s say affected Section 9 just to keep you guessing.  However they would come in need after a terrorist group would become a threat known as the Individual Eleven, a group that spurs from the issues of refugees that had come into Japan for cheap labor and later were tossed to the side. Their train of thought and concern for refuges could very well be something that someone is manipulated but their belief in the cause could very well out weigh any outsider's personal motive. It’s up to section 9 to stop the group as well as one person in particular Hideo Kozua that like the laughing man is a particular interest to Motoko. Except in this case there is a possibility she is connected to him in a far more personal way.

       This one focuses more on war as opposed to the statement of effects on relying on technology as the first season had. It also reinforced the time frame of the series and manages to shed a little light in how Japan had come to where it was from before and after the two World Wars. To say these particular threats are nemesis would probably downplay their significance as they reinforce the problems that are present in this future world/Japan. One that would see two more world wars and it’s range of issues can be seen as quite relevant to today.

Ghost In The Shell is all about showing the boundaries we set for ourselves and how we sometimes transcend them, how we search for a way to or do so without knowing. There is no bounds in the future but of course that isn’t the end merely the beginning of something with its own set of dilemmas.  It does something very unique in which it begs you to examine and reexamine certain things in our lives,, almost everything as well as to understand the future they’re in is something close to what the present is becoming and can become.  What the movies have done for fans and may have not for those that had watched it but may have not been nearly as interested, has now something they can offer into spades. The fifty plus episode count has plenty to sink your teeth in and if that’s not enough there was a movie that took place after the second season. The Solid State Society. If the potential of these stories now begins to pique certain viewers interest than they should be prepared for more to come.

Take A Pick Tuesday - Space Brothers

Take A Pick Tuesday: Space Brothers

 

Have you ever stood outside at night, even in the crowded cities that had skies to indifferent to show the night, hoping they would give you a rare view of stars and the moon, to look up and wonder, to look up and hope. We know so much about them, we can fear them at times but always there is something about looking toward them, sometimes they ride on our dreams, sometimes they are the destination for our dreams.  Well if you recall that feeling or maybe now or have always wanted such a feeling then I can easily recommend Space Brothers.  Parts that make it up, the parts funny, the parts inspirational and all parts wonderful it looks at what it is to dream, big, big enough to take you beyond earth, beyond anything you could imagine.

 

    The story is about two brothers whose childhood dream it was to go to space. They witness something strange once when they were younger, recording the sound of animals at the time, which helps them decide that they want to explore the vast unknown. When the younger brother Hibito decides that he wants to go to the moon and beats older brother Mutta to the punch of declaring it, Mutta says he wants to go to Mars. Because an older brother must always be ahead of his younger brother. Though both settle on the notion of going together as brothers to the moon. Fast forward to them as adults and things didn’t go as it seemed it should since that faithful night. For Hibito he indeed became an astronaut as he is set to be the first Japanese Man on the moon. When asked in a press conference the reason why he wanted to go, he says it had been a shared dream that both him and his older brother had shared.

 

       So where is Mutta, you can say he strayed from the path a bit and ended up working for a company where he designed cars, in fact he was a star designer until he head butted his boss. Of course this meant he lost his job, although to his credit had been because his boss was mocking someone in the newspaper and that person happened to be his little brother. Having done it though had caused him to be blacklisted from every company, so he returns home to reevaluate his life, wondering what happened to the dream he had of going into space. When had he stopped believing it was possible?

 

      When his brother catches wind of his predicament an opportunity would arise unbeknownst to Mutta, an application for the astronaut candidacy exam would be sent with his name by his brother and mother. Soon he would be accepted to part take in it at JAXA and would be constantly tested to find the resolve to believe in himself, in why he wanted it and learn that if you have a dream than you should truly never let go of it. Right away there is a special feeling about this show, just like explorers that go to the stars, you feel something moving in the show, this wonder, this hope.

 

   Having dreams in life is shown as being an important single driving force  and how it moves people no matter what is going on in their life and of course no matter the consequences.  Mutta is an extremely human character, funny as is the show at times, very often actually well balanced with it's touching moments, he dismisses any notions of the perfect anime character, and if anything he’s the perfect human being flaws and all. He’s him or in some ways us, which is special when a character like that shows up in any medium, tall skinny and with an afro alongside his 5 o'clock shadow and funny face expressions that go so well with his usually well dressed ( mostly in a suit) appearance.  His humorous nature goes well with his touching relations to many of the other characters as it is for his brother, capable of love despite what self-desire finds at times or how inconvenient how he might wish otherwise, he is unable to resist the urge to sacrifice it for others. Having to go over it at times in consideration and at times to throw caution to the wind is part of what makes Mutta Namba such a compelling character.

 

      As much as Mutta underestimates himself he is underestimated by others even more, not all, there are friends he makes, certain ones whose friendship grows through the series to be something powerful, something that has meaning to you but instead at times the people that have to make the decisions that could allow him to continue or fail will be the ones that find something they believe they should underestimate him for. Even though there is someone and really there always has to be someone, that can see the great things he can be capable of.

     Though he’ll wrestle with it regardless of what he can accomplish  occasionally he’s allowed to be proud, as well as believing he is more than someone who is in his brother’s shadow. If that was true  that he lived in his brother's shadow than no one told his brother, who idolizes him openly even though to each other few emotions will be exchanged when they are apart, in each other’s thoughts you will see a bond like no other. Still what makes Mutta so special is what makes other people root for him, sometimes waiting for him to step up to the plate, sometimes to knock it out of the park.

 

    Hibito is indeed an accomplished person though what makes his character so interesting is he really doesn’t think much of it, he has that wonderful desire of just going to the moon. So it seems to us he can do anything, even though he seems to think more of Mutta, his fellow astronauts, those living and those that passed and the astronomer that was a mentor to both him and Mutta, Sharon. A character who is a mother figure, a teacher figure and a core reason for their desire to go to the moon. Even if it was Mutta's declaration to her one time that it was just him and Sharon, that he would help with her dream of building a Sharon Telescope on the moon to allow astronomers to see further into space, to see places they never could before.  There were plenty of moments between Sharon and Hibito or both brothers share with her that keep it as one of the constant motivations for them in their aspirations and hope.  Even so Hibito  has many things that haunt him, that drive him, that will come to cause him to doubt himself and the great dangers that comes with such a dream are ones he has to face, at times alone. At  times when he believes he is alone will be the times he faces it with many others. 

      It’s interesting how they introduce pieces of it to you later on giving you a complete picture of the character who could go do something when he was younger and not realize how dangerous or how great it was he managed to do. Also Hibito garners a lot of attention for what he’s set to do but he hardly think about it, it’s a little beyond him though he puts up with it, you’ll see astronauts who despise the attention all together and some that were born for it. So for someone who is already getting rooted for you'll find yourself surprised when it is you're rooting hardest for Hibito and it's a great feeling when you're doing it.

 

 

Space Brothers works closely with JAXA and NASA and it shows, considering it’s probably the closest to accuracy in a anime you’ll actually get about space. I mean the show managed to give the first voice over from space for crying out loud when an astronaut used his actual voice for his anime version. They managed to record his voice despite him being on the international space station. The exams Mutta will have to go through along with other characters he’ll befriend and you’ll also root for will show how intricate the process can be.

    The grueling choosing process is fascinating as it is at keeping you on the edge of your seat, as it is for some of the people choosing the candidates, their personal connection with the agency, of their younger life, of space, even to characters like Mutta. Sometimes it feels downright unfair and sometimes it feels the exams never really end and let's face it when you're sending people to space and choosing which ones will go of course it won't.

 

 

       While they may be rivals you hope for some of them to be together at the end though you really won’t be able to tell who it will be. Mutta even has someone he falls for, Seki Itho who like him has an important reason in why she wants to go to space, to be exact, her desire to reach the International Space Station, her explaining it to you at first is more than enough reason to root for her but actually seeing the reason later on is enough to break your heart. Many of the character’s dreams are like that and the show knows how to lay out drama and complexity, whether happy or sad it’s easy for so many episodes to bring a tear or several tears to your eyes. Seki like Mutta is extremely intelligent, she’s also athletic, with an appetite to match, despite all her reasons you can see quite often that what she’s going to eat is equally important to her. There's even a scene where she's doing work and by her desk or pictures pinned up of food. Can’t say I blame her.

 

     If anything Mutta seems to remind Seki of her father, one early scene that came shortly after introducing the character is when she sees him looking at the space suit in the glass case, trying to see his face reflect off the helmet as if he was in the suit. It reminded her of what her father had done and later he’d catch her trying to do the same. There’s so many of these scenes I truly wish I could write about all of them. You have other characters like Kenji who keeps shaking Mutta’s hand, someone with a wife and a little child and whose reason though coming from another direction is just as important, a life where he dreamed of something more when going through every day with work he didn't want to actually do, wanting to trade dismal grey skies and settings for a place closest to space where his mind can truly be appreciated. Though the cost of even reaching being an astronaut shows quite often, even in the most simplistic of ways, time. In Kenji's case if he goes to space along with training he could miss several years of his child’s life and even the testing and preparation for such a thing can show the effects on his child and the strain it could put on his wife.

 

      The exams at JAXA can seem a little impossible at times for other reasons, especially one reason in particular, when you’re kept in the dark of what it is that actually want out of their candidates and be warned even when it seems like they’re not being tested, they’re being tested or are they? Yup it’s long road if you can even get there, that’s why it’s so important for all of them, Mutta included to find reason in why they are doing it. Even at his lowest Mutta can find it, when he goes to visit Houston Texas where NASA is and Hibito is training.

      Between foiling a robbery of a man with an extinguisher accidently and befriending an important little character who also happens to be a little dog named Apo short for Apollo, he’d find why it is he wants to pass so much. In himself, through his friends ( astronauts that work with Hibito and others at NASA, as well as a kind couple that are his brother's neighbors). Even if it seems like a snowball’s chance in hell. It shows Mutta might still have untapped qualities you’re unaware of, such as his internal clock, his precise attention to detail of which Hibito is the opposite of.

 

Being as informative and legitimate as they can about space, the show doesn’t shy away from the danger and risk of space travel.  Some you see are devastating to see even if they are in the past, others happening during the present or enough cause for you to become a nail biter. When not scaring the pants off of you they also show some interesting ideas. Now I’m not caught up on all the things NASA has developed but the show brings interesting answers to the predicaments that astronauts have to face, such as a way to map out the moon in order to avoid craters which normally would be impossible to completely avoid. While developing this with budget constraints, even the questions of flying cars, their practically and what certain ideas like those could actually offer are brought up.

     As well as recreating a space station or adding to it's construction during training under water, developing a way for light to come into the station through panels. As well as various other solutions to issues that they have to face, perhaps making rechargeable stations for vehicles, to allow them to go further as well as other small adjustments that could mean life or death for any of them, Trust me though most of these are brought up in unexpected ways. It also shows you answers to everyday problems  where the answers might lie in places like NASA, who find them while trying to solve the questions so few ask but need to.

 

    There are also various training exercises in preparation or such emergencies even with the risk of dying and shows hazards, it seems to comfort the hope that you won’t find future scenes that knock around the idea of hope that is such a powerful theme around your head like it’s bruised and defeated.  You even get to watch the majority of the decision making well beyond JAXA, we’re talking in NASA too, and also obstacles even when you reach being an astronaut like the allotted time you may have to wait to go on a mission.  Yet despite all of this it’s like Sharon says hands to her chest, you think on what would be the most fun to do. You’d be surprised how the concept helps you to hang on to your dreams.

 

    All of it is worth it for the breathtaking scenes of takeoff or landing, everything you seen in the show bottled up in that moment, shook up and let out like lighting and fire. They are beautiful, quietly intense, sometimes epic scores that capture the moment, having their chance to add to something even more momentous, exhilarating, and even terrifying. With everything at stake you’ll be relived if at least some of what happens goes alright. If nothing else you’ll get a profound respect for something that if often overlooked in our daily lives, things that places like NASA mange to do. Asking what the point in anything is would be ridiculous to people in that line of work, it would be to discover. The moments are countless and whether watching it again or thinking about it will drive out the moments you first felt when you watched it.  Space Brothers is definitely about the journey but in a different sense than you’ve seen, a vivid and detail account of the steps take to pursue a dream and once having it to go further.

 

    What seems like crushed dreams or really them taking various forms proving they could never die. Taking form they shape us and it shows in how detailed the characters are as is the story, everyone has their reasons. This is one of those shows that ends and you say I don’t know what to do with my life although, it might ask you to push for your dreams once it comes into focus. Just as soon as you’ve absorbed everything from the series and there is plenty to observe. It’ll forever keep that feeling that when you look up to the stars no matter what’s happening anything is possible and that is a beautiful thing indeed. If you don’t believe that then you’re the one that’s going to have to face Apo.

A Podcast Companion

https://soundcloud.com/rats-on-a-plague-podcast

*Need more otaku time, well for more ideas why not hop on to the newly minted podcast Rats On A Plague Ship. A podcast that speaks on all matters of geekdom with yours truly and my fellow co-host Sal Almaraz. The true cure to when the hours feel like they drag!