Tiger and Bunny Movie

They are making a Tiger and Bunny movie!!!! Kyaaa!!

Live Action Kenshin Teaser 2!

Kenshin and Lupin

There's going to be a new Lupin the 3rd anime in April!! Whee! You can read more about it over on ANN.

Oh my gosh! How awesome! I can't wait!

Also, there was a new promo streamed for the Kenshin movie. Head over to ANN to read more about it.

Karigurashi no Arrietty

I watched Karigurashi no Arrietty the other day and I gotta say, I wasn't all that impressed.

Let me preface this by saying that, like all Studio Ghibli productions, the animation is absolutely gorgeous. Although the cuteness of the "puff out like a bird when you're alarmed" thing is wearing off a bit.

Cuteness aside, I had some serious issues with the story. Arrietty and her family are tiny people (not fairies) that sneak into human homes and "borrow" supplies. When Arrietty turns 14, she goes with her father to her first "borrowing." However, by an unlucky coincidence a boy with a bad heart, Sho, has moved into the home. Sho sees Arrietty.

Okay, basics explained, I had two major issues with the story. Let me start with the first.

In his autobiography, Leonard Nimoy gave the best advice about story telling I have ever heard to date- if a character does not further the plot, get rid of them. Sho effectively served no purpose in the story. He is just a sick little boy who finds Arrietty and starts the plot off.

There is a one weak attempt to show how they have influenced each other. Sho has a bad heart and is, more or less, resigned to dying. A single conversation with Arrietty, and suddenly his will to live is rekindled. The film was trying to show us that Sho is inspired by Arrietty’s will to live (despite her difficult circumstances.) It failed. That scene was not strong enough to convey that message. That was a pivotal moment for Sho. It was the moment he found his fight, his fire, his desire to live. Think about a scene like in the same vein that’s done well. For example, in the CP9 arc when Luffy screams out to Robin (who is about to sacrifice herself,) “tell me you want to live!!” This isn’t One Piece, and the scene doesn’t have to be that dramatic but, however subtle or sedated, it should be powerful.

As Arrietty motivates Sho, he shows her that not all humans are bad – which, I assume, was his role in her life. But… wait a minute. We got that exactmessage already from Arrietty's father at the very beginning. On their first “borrowing” he says she doesn’t always have to run away from people – some people are good. When they are actually discovered however, he completely does a 180 and forces the family to flee.

To quote a Johnny Depp classic, “that's just bad writing.”

The other issue I had with the story was an even bigger one, the entire concept. The philosophy of Arrietty’s family is that they aren’t bad people because they are “borrowing.” This idea of “borrowing” is reinforced thought out the film and is very important to the plot. When they are discovered by the housekeeper she treats them like pests claiming they are thieves. Sho defends them by saying they don’t steal.

Oh, but they do.

In fact, that’s pretty much all they do. Yeah, they steal tiny amounts, one tissue, a single cube of sugar, but taking something without telling anyone and with no intention of returning it, is stealing. The plot cannot enforce the “wrongness” of the antagonist (the housekeeper) and the inherent right of the Borrowers to live, based on the flawed concept that they do no harm. The housekeeper rants that things go missing. She may be stingy but she’s not wrong. However, minor it may be, the Borrowers are a negative influence in the home. They produce nothing, they help no one and they are only concerned with their own survival.

In the film Ratatouille, Remy the rat, decides he is sick of stealing. He doesn’t want to just exist at the expense of others. He wants to create. He wants to give something back to the world. This elevates him above the other rats. It brings him to a higher level of existence. Even though he is small and furry, he is, in the eyes of the audience, no longer a rat, a pest, a creature that cares only about its own survival. He has transcended and become something greater. The audience gets indignant when he is treated badly. He isn’t a pest anymore, he’s a chef.

Karigurashi no Arrietty badly needed a scene like this. If it were up to me, I would have said Sho was at home recovery from the operation. It was successful and they put a pacemaker in his heart. Later on, while trying to help Arrietty’s family, his pacemaker fails. Arrietty’s father, who specializes in tiny contraptions, could find a way to repair the pacemaker and save Sho’s life (possibly at the cost of some item they direly need for their own survival.) This would show us that the Borrowers care about something other than themselves and would make their taking a few tiny things here and there, insignificant. Right now, the only reason the audience is given to see them as anything other than pests is because they look human. That’s just not good enough.

Heroes Fantasia

Heroes Fantasia has both Lina and Orphen! I would pick it up but I won't understand the plot. Also, I have no idea if it with work on a non-Japanese system. I think someone said that the PSP will play Japanese and American games but I haven't been able to verify that. And, I haven't checked, but I'm certain the game is probably not going to be cheap. But still... Gourry, Amelia, Zelgadis, Majik, Cleo... LINA and ORPHEN!!! Noooooo...want it, want it.

Anime Voice Actor's Wife Dies

Voice actor Dan Green's wife died on Nov. 25th after giving birth to their children. Please visit his website if you want to make a donation or leave him a message.

As anime fans know, Dan Green is the voice behind many beloved anime characters from Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon and Sonic the Hedgehog. You can see an interview with him here.

If you can help, or want to leave him a message, please do so. I don't know if it will reach him, but he should know that his fans have him in their thoughts and prayers.

According to ANN Lupin the 3rd is a getting a new television special, Chi no Kokuin Eien no Mermaid.

Neon Gensis Evangelion DVDs are going out of print in the US so if you want to buy them you have to act fast. You can purchase the Platinum Boxset at Right Stuff Anime for $29.00.

The Rurouni Kenshin Live Action film will open in Japan on August 25th. Wow, I really want to see this! You can read more about it over at ANN, as always.

ANN tells me that the Rock Lee manga spin-off, Rock Lee no Seishun Full ower Ninden will be getting its own anime! Wow! Go Rock Lee!

Wolverine anime

They are making a Wolverine anime. Not a cartoon. No. An anime. I am... at a loss for what to say here.

Is this good? Is this bad? I think I am in shock.

For years and years the West tried to de-Asian anime by dubbing names, editing background, changing entire plot line and now they take an extremely famous Western idea and re-invent it as completely Japanese?

I think I don't like it. I didn't like it when they tried to make YST into Ronin Warriors and I don't like them making Wolverine into ..well that thing on the left. At least Wolverine speaks Japanese.

I mean people... wasn't the Wolverine manga painful enough? And how about that awful CLAMP-esque bishounen X-Men in academy mess?

*sigh* I guess I am a purist. Anyway, visit here for more news and a teaser trailer.

Live Action Yu-Gi-Oh!

Wow, live action Yu-Gi-Oh could either be really awesome or really, really awful (think Dragon Ball.)

Get the full story on ANN.

Selfish Selflessness

I wrote about this the other day on Twitter.

Can any act truly be selfless? (I define selfless as an act that does not benefit the person performing it.) Let's take the ultimate act of selflessness, self sacrifice. I'll use an example from the show Supernatural.

(BTW, if you haven't seen the show but intend to, I suggest you stop reading so you don't spoil anything.)

When Daddy Winchester gives up his soul to a demon in exchange for saving his dying son, most people would find that a completely selfless act. But for Winchester senior, the thought of living without his son is more painful than being tortured in hell. In other words, he would rather burn in hell forever than live a full human life without his kid. He has made a choice that benefits him as well.

Same thing applies when Dean gives up his soul to bring his brother back from the dead. Dean would prefer to give up his soul and go to hell rather than live without his little sib. He chose the alternative he can more easily live with.

Of course none of this really matters in the real world. Whether an act of selflessness was completely altruistic is irrelevant. The act is so grand that the motives are seldom questioned. However, when you are talking about the psychology of non-human entities, i.e. mazoku, it comes into play.

Mazoku are a race of supernatural beings usually found in Japanese legends. In this example I will use Xelloss from the anime Slayers.)

Mazoku are are similar in nature to sociopaths (you can read more about the comparison on my live journal entry Mazoku as Sociopaths.) They can feel only a limited range of emotions, more specifically only selflish ones. Mazoku are absolutely incapable of performing a selfless act because it will destroy them. (I still have my doubts on this. Why then did Xelloss save Phyria when the cave was collapsing?) But if they can justify to themselves that any and every act is, in essence, selfish then they will be free to feel the entire range of human emotions. (In theory anyway.)

Then again perhaps a mazoku can only experience those emotions that always benefit them more than others. This is getting kit picky but you get the idea.

Interesting, yes, no?