On Reactions and Anime
Feb. 22nd, 2004 12:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rushthatspeaksHave now seen the first episode of Paranoia Agent. Ano... ano... but... that wasn't even vaguely disturbing! In the bits where it wasn't boring (and it was boring most of the time), it was kind of cute. It definitely has the potential to go somewhere, especially since it has Satoshi Kon's fingerprints all over it and he is very good at making interesting coolness out of relatively ordinary beginnings. So I have every intention of watching the rest of it. Eventually. Not high on my list, since it isn't an art style I like much and also most of it was pretty boring. If we can get midnite_phoenix to be more coherent about why it destroyed his brain, I would be fascinated, because I thought it was pretty innocuous.
Also, O Bostonians, even though Detective Academy Q has not yet reached its full brilliance, it should be obvious by now how intelligently written it is, and how carefully they are playing with the traditional anime stereotypes and cliches. I mean, the schoolgirl *knows* that her short skirt is too short, and consequently carefully holds it down at all times. And she is perfectly competent in her own right-- in fact, more so than other people, in many ways. Everything that happens in the show is perfectly within the boundaries of physics. Every ability that anyone has is an ability that real people are capable of having. Every mystery is one that it is possible to solve in advance-- I know because I got one in advance, and was really proud of myself. Every character is intelligent in a different way, and yet they all act their ages and the teachers really do have things to teach the students.
And then there's the opening, which is on my top ten anime openings list. The visual transitions between which character is being followed are so perfectly directed, and there are two musical transitions that simply awe me. The way they add to and take away meaning from the opening as the series progresses is magnificent.
In addition, those little five-second chunks of plot after the ending sequence and preview are a great way of doing those segments of plot without having to make annoying cuts and jumps in the episode itself. They exploit those seconds so marvelously.
The more I analyze the series, the more it becomes clear how carefully and brilliantly written and constructed it was, how thoroughly planned, and how lovingly detailed. It's the only thing I've ever seen that reminds me of Hikaru no Go. I would say that I have an irrational love for this series, but my love is based on intellectual analysis, and the more I think, the more I really love it.
Also, O Bostonians, even though Detective Academy Q has not yet reached its full brilliance, it should be obvious by now how intelligently written it is, and how carefully they are playing with the traditional anime stereotypes and cliches. I mean, the schoolgirl *knows* that her short skirt is too short, and consequently carefully holds it down at all times. And she is perfectly competent in her own right-- in fact, more so than other people, in many ways. Everything that happens in the show is perfectly within the boundaries of physics. Every ability that anyone has is an ability that real people are capable of having. Every mystery is one that it is possible to solve in advance-- I know because I got one in advance, and was really proud of myself. Every character is intelligent in a different way, and yet they all act their ages and the teachers really do have things to teach the students.
And then there's the opening, which is on my top ten anime openings list. The visual transitions between which character is being followed are so perfectly directed, and there are two musical transitions that simply awe me. The way they add to and take away meaning from the opening as the series progresses is magnificent.
In addition, those little five-second chunks of plot after the ending sequence and preview are a great way of doing those segments of plot without having to make annoying cuts and jumps in the episode itself. They exploit those seconds so marvelously.
The more I analyze the series, the more it becomes clear how carefully and brilliantly written and constructed it was, how thoroughly planned, and how lovingly detailed. It's the only thing I've ever seen that reminds me of Hikaru no Go. I would say that I have an irrational love for this series, but my love is based on intellectual analysis, and the more I think, the more I really love it.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Spoilers for first episode of Paranoia Agent. you were warned.
Date: 2004-02-21 11:34 pm (UTC)When talking to midnite_phoenix earlier he mentioned something about the translation of the lyrics in the opening. I think he's being a tad high-strung in his analysis though.
no subject
Date: 2004-02-22 08:07 am (UTC)Re Dectective Academy Q--
I don't much like the way they're playing with the stereotypes. The overly enthusiastic protagonist keeps getting on my nerves and I don't like all of the shots zooming in on the too-short skirt of the girl. Yes, they're playing with the stereotypes. They have the Protagonist, the Big Guy, the Girl, The Kid, and The Really Cool Guy. I like the Really Cool Guy. I liked the first segment he was in. But I'd like him to show up already and take the fifth seat in Q class that's conspiciously left open.
I think the opening is good. But I don't think it's as good as the Hikaru no Go opening.
Every mystery is one that it is possible to solve in advance-- I know because I got one in advance, and was really proud of myself.
We also got one in advance and were annoyed that it took the rest of the characters so long to figure it out.